I lived in London last year and quickly found two things, 1) London was even more expensive than I imagined, and 2) A student can only afford a couple pints at the pub if he eats a lot of peanut butter, soup and cheap but tasty food from Tesco, a supermarket chain in the UK.
Well guess what, Tesco is invading California. They've made some announcements but the PR machine kicked into gear a few days ago as they announced they'll be opening a bunch of stores in the East Bay.
I love Safeway because the service and food are good, the people are nice (Novita) and it was a great investment for me a while back. However, Tesco, is a very creative company and will surely bring some grocery innovations to California. These two companies duking it out will be fun to watch.
