Word on the Street: Fresno store's healthy choices

Lassens Natural Foods & Vitamins has opened in northeast Fresno, selling everything from wheat grass to fresh egg salad from cage-free, free-range chickens.

The store took over the former Bentley's Fresh Market in the RiverView shopping center at Friant and Fort Washington roads and opened Aug. 31.

This is the 10th location for Lassens, a family-run retailer based in Southern California.

The store's produce is 99.8% organic -- the only thing that isn't certified organic is the hydroponically grown watercress, said store manager Sid Rehka. The store plans to begin carrying local fruit and vegetables soon.

Lassens also carries products that are gluten free and all natural, including raw milk and cheese from Fresno County-based Organic Pastures. It has several aisles of vitamins, and cosmetics with plant-based ingredients.

The Fresno store has the largest deli in the chain, with hot prepared food and prepared salads, such as a tuna salad made with tuna caught on fishing lines, not nets that can also catch dolphins.

It also has a meat counter and an organic smoothie counter.

Healthy growth

GNC, the national chain of health and nutrition stores, has opened its newest Fresno store in the Fig Garden Village shopping center on Palm Avenue between Shaw and San Jose avenues.

Franchisee Sue Means opened the new store Sept. 10. It is in the northwest portion of the center, a few doors down from Chipotle Mexican Grill and flanked by the Fig Garden Village Post Office and The Packaging Store.

GNC has seven stand-alone stores in the Fresno-Clovis area, six of which are owned by Means. She has been a GNC franchisee since 1990, when she bought the store at Clovis' Sierra Vista Mall. Before becoming a franchise owner, Means worked for GNC for 13 years in Los Angeles.

The store is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Beauty buffet

The Iron Bird Beauty Bar has moved to a new location, still within the Iron Bird Lofts.

The business, now at 1929 Fulton St., Suite 111, is slightly larger than the old space.

Owner Julia Cantu, an aesthetician and makeup artist with 10 years experience working for other companies, struck out on her own in December. She offers facials, chemical peels, microdermabrasion and waxing.

A retail portion of the store sells skin-care products, including face masks, lotions and sunscreen, and a makeup line made from ingredients found in the wild.

This story was originally published September 18, 2011 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Word on the Street: Fresno store's healthy choices."