Another zombie Amazon Fresh bites the dust

It’s been months since Amazon Fresh was in the news for planning dozens of stores and never opening them, but it’s official that one of them, which was slated for Brookfield, Conn., will instead become a Big Y grocery store. 

Big Y is opening the new store at 14 Candlewood Lake Road in Brookfield. The company said on Tuesday it also plans to open locations at 1076 Post Road East in Westport, Conn., and 290 Turnpike Road in Westborough, Mass. 

Remodeling the three stores could begin within the next four to six months, according to the Big Y announcement. The addition of the three stores brings Big Y’s chain to a total of 77 locations, the grocer said. 

Big Y is also purchasing a gas and convenience store across the street from one of its Big Y stores in North Haven, Conn. That gas station, at 342 Washington Ave., will be rebranded as a Big Y Express, making it the c-store chain’s 18th location.

Patch, a news website, first reported the story, making the connection that the Big Y would take the place of the Amazon Fresh that never opened. Patch most recently reported on the Amazon Fresh in April, when Greg Dembowski, Brookfield's economic development specialist, said he had spoken to the Amazon Fresh executives earlier in the year but received no explanation on the retail giant’s plans for the location.  

Following that conversation, Amazon went silent with Dembowski, according to the story. 

It was around April when stories about unopened Amazon Fresh locations began appearing in media channels across the country. Some of the unopened stores prompted lawsuits from building owners arguing they were not being paid rent for the locations. 

Vacant properties in Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Seattle, and elsewhere began appearing across the country. In some cases, the Amazon Fresh signs that had been installed on the buildings were removed or damaged.

Amazon hit the reset button on its Amazon Fresh stores in August, remodeling two of its suburban Chicago locations in Schaumburg and Oak Lawn, Ill.  

Those stores were redesigned to adopt many of the design features of Amazon’s other grocery store holding, Whole Foods Market, to include more welcoming signage, more prepared meal options, a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop, and more. 

Despite the setbacks, CEO Andy Jassy said in April 2023 that he believes, “Grocery is a big growth opportunity,” and that the company is working to build the right format for its Amazon Fresh stores.