It has been nearly three years since Amazon embarked on its journey to open a grocery store in the Lincoln Plaza shopping center off East Lincoln Highway near the Oxford Valley Mall in Middletown Township. However, the Amazon Fresh store may be moving toward an opening.
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Several LevittownNow.com readers have reported seeing work happening inside the storefront. A reporter’s visit to the storefront revealed an electrical contractor in the rear of the store.
Jim Ennis, Middletown Township’s director of building and zoning, said Amazon received permits in 2021 and the plans have “gone through numerous plan revisions since that time.”
“To the township’s knowledge, they are performing work that has received the necessary approvals and permits. The township does not know when they are planning to open,” he said.
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While the façade has largely been completed since 2022, the interior wasn’t finished. Work slowed as Amazon Fresh paused their grocery rollout in recent years.
A reporter’s brief view inside the store this week showed shelving units, but the rest of the store was unfinished.
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An Amazon spokesperson said he couldn’t specifically comment on the Middletown Township location.
”We’ll continue to open new Whole Foods Market stores, and will do so selectively with Amazon Fresh as we see results we like. We’re encouraged by early signs of our new store design in Chicago and Southern California, and will proceed adaptively,” said Griffin Buch, an Amazon spokesperson.
A source at Amazon told this news organization that the company recently began hiring trainers focused on opening Amazon Fresh stores in the region.
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Amazon said recently that it is planning to “continue to build out our physical presence” to complement their large online grocery business.
Last year, amid Amazon’s reworking on its grocery business, CEO Andy Jassy said the company was doing a bit of “experimentation” to find what store format fit best with customers.
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“We’ve decided over the last year or so that we’re not going to expand the physical fresh doors until we have that equation with differentiation and economic value that we like, but we’re optimistic that we’re going to find that,” Jassy said.
He added: “And when we do find that equation, we will expand it more expansively. But I think that we have a very significant opportunity in the grocery segment.”
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Last summer, Amazon Fresh announced they had begun rolling out redesigned Amazon Fresh stores in Chicago. The stores with the new design have new departments, selections of grab-and-go foods, lower prices, and expanded product selections. The stores also featured a Krispy Kreme location.
The company last fall began updating Amazon Fresh stores in the Los Angeles area after positive feedback from customers in Chicago, according to the company.
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Presently, Amazon Fresh operates a store in Warrington Township. The location opened in 2021.
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The Bucks County Courier Times reported in April that the Bensalem Township store has received permits for work in December 2023. As of this week, the store had not yet opened.
In 2021, the Amazon Fresh location in Middletown Township purchased the liquor license from the nearby closed Ground Round. The liquor license will allow the grocery store to sell beer and wine, setting it to better compete with Giant Food Stores and Shop Rite.
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