Middletown Amazon Fresh Store To Close

Amazon said in a statement Tuesday it will shutter its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go brick-and-mortar locations, a decision that includes the location in Middletown Township.

Most of the stores are expected to close by Feb. 1, according to a Yahoo Finance report.

The closures come as the e-commerce giant pivots its physical retail strategy toward its Whole Foods Market brand.

The 44,500-square-foot Amazon Fresh store in Lincoln Plaza opened in September 2024 after three years of construction and various delays.

“While we’ve seen encouraging signals in our Amazon-branded physical grocery stores, we haven’t yet created a truly distinctive customer experience with the right economic model needed for large-scale expansion,” the company said in a statement.

Despite the closure of the self-branded grocery stores, Amazon reported it is among the three largest grocers in the country, with more than $150 billion in gross sales.

The company’s statement touted strong online sales of everyday household items, including groceries.

While the Amazon-branded storefronts are being phased out, some will be converted into Whole Foods Market locations.

The company announced Tuesday an expansion for Whole Foods Markets, with plans to open more than 100 new locations over the next few years.

The Whole Foods Markets’ expansion includes a focus on the Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, a smaller-format grocery store designed for quick convenience, Amazon said.

Amazon did not immediately release a list of which Amazon Fresh stores would become Whole Foods Markets.

Amazon’s website lists 50 Amazon Fresh and 14 Amazon Go locations in operation.

In Bucks County, Amazon Fresh also operates stores in Bensalem Township and Warrington Township.

Since purchasing Whole Foods in 2017, Amazon has grown the chain to more than 550 locations, including a new store that debuted last year in Doylestown Township.

Amazon said in Tuesday’s announcement that plans to create a “mass physical store format that brings customers distinctive selection, value, and convenience.”

“Over the coming years, we plan to introduce new store concepts that we think customers will be excited about,” the company said.

Recently, Amazon received approval for 230,000-square-foot retail store outside Chicago, according to the Wall Street Journal.