Amazon gets a fresh start on brick-and-mortar grocery

Online retail giant Amazon made headlines in late June with the opening of a new brick-and-mortar Amazon Fresh store in Eatontown, N.J.  

The store opening was notable because growth in the grocery chain appeared to still be on hold since last year, when the company faced criticism — and in some cases, lawsuits — in cities across the country for announcing new stores and never opening them. 

The new location in Eatontown appears to be the beginning of the Amazon Fresh reset. Local news organizations in Gaithersburg, Md., and Alexandria, Va., have recently reported that Amazon Fresh stores that never opened in those two cities appear to be back in the works. 

MoCoShow, a news website in Montgomery County, Md., reported on June 30 that a store at 15790 Shady Grove Rd. in Gaithersburg appears to have new life. Within the last couple of weeks, a sign with the Amazon logo appeared on the building reading “Delicious Groceries Coming Soon.” 

The site, which was slated to open as an Amazon Fresh last year, installed an official Amazon Fresh sign. 

MoCoShow reported in April of 2023 that the store had been built out, but Amazon removed Amazon Fresh signs on the outside of the building. That location was expected to be equipped with Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology. 

Related:Another zombie Amazon Fresh bites the dust

Amazon announced in April that it was discontinuing its use of the cashierless tech at its U.S. locations. The company said then that it was focusing its efforts on further developing its AI-powered smart shopping carts known as Dash Carts. 

MoCoShow said an opening date has not been announced, but Amazon Fresh is hiring for positions at the location. 

An Amazon Fresh spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Meanwhile, online news organization ALXnow reported on June 24 that Amazon is once again working to build out an Amazon Fresh store at 3801 Richmond Highway in Potomac Yard Shopping Center in Alexandria, Va.

The brick-and-mortar location also features a “Delicious Groceries Coming Soon” sign on the exterior of the building. 

The location was originally made public in May of 2021 and described as a 50,000-square-foot store.