Amazon Fresh Opens 8th Illinois Location, Announces 3 More in Northern Virginia

A new Amazon Fresh in the near-west Chicago suburb of North Riverside, Ill., opened its doors June 9, marking the concept's eighth location in Illinois, as Amazon Fresh also separately announced the addition of three new stores in Northern Virginia.

North Riverside's approximately 40,000-square-foot Amazon Fresh store, located at 7201 W. 24th St., offers Amazon's Just Walk Out checkout-free shopping option as well as Ask Alexa kiosks throughout the store and order-ahead service at the meat, seafood, deli and pizza counters.

See also: Is Just Walk Out A New-Store Staple for Amazon?

The store also carries 365 by Whole Foods Market organic products; locally made products, including Turano Baking Co. baked goods, El Milagro tortillas, Gino’s East pizzas and Oberweis dairy products; Amazon-exclusive brands (Aplenty, Cursive and Fresh); and Amazon's recently announced Fresh Plant-Based products.

Just Walk Out technology lets customers scan a barcode using the Amazon app to enter the store, add items to their cart without having to scan the actual items, and then scan the barcode again to exit the store. Shoppers pay using the payment method they have stored in the Amazon app. Regular checkout lanes also are available. 

Amazon's Ask Alexa kiosks let shoppers ask questions about products and promotions, including where items can be found in the store. Alexa then directs shoppers to the isle where the item is located. Digital shelf tags allow for dynamic pricing by Amazon.

"We’re just so excited to be here and serving the North Riverside community," store manager Greg Geraci said at the North Riverside location's grand opening. "Everyone’s been really welcoming. The local team that we recruited, and hired and trained have been terrific."

Giveaways, free samples and special discounts will be on offer during the store's first weekend, including 50% off Aplenty products, 49-cent yellow honey mangos and $1.59 boxes of Annie’s Mac & Cheese.

In Northern Virginia, Amazon Fresh opened a store at 7807 Sudley Road on June 9 and said it will open locations at 9409 Lorton Market St. in Lorton, Va., and 1550 Crystal Drive in Arlington in the coming weeks. All three Virginia stores also will offer Just Walk Out shopping, and as with North Riverside, the Virginia locations will donate surplus food to local food banks, Amazon Fresh said in a news release. 

With the addition of the Lorton and Arlington stores, Amazon Fresh will have 35 locations in six states and Washington, D.C.