Amazon Fresh, the retail giant's tech-forward supermarket chain, will finally open its Northern Liberties store in August nearly five years after plans for the location were first announced.
The grand opening at the corner of Sixth and Spring Garden streets will be Aug. 14, Amazon spokesperson Griffin Bush said Thursday. Signs advertising the opening are posted on the storefront, which has been built out with the chain's green trim and other hallmarks for several years while remaining vacant.
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The store will be Amazon's first to open in Philadelphia. The chain's other locations in the area are in Willow Grove, Warrington, Broomall, Bensalem and Langhorne. Several of those stores also opened long after they had been announced. Two years ago, Amazon closed some of its original locations and paused new openings to redesign the store format. The concept debuted in 2020.
The store's former "Just Walk Out" feature, which allowed customers to pay for their groceries without stopping at a register, has been upgraded with new Dash Carts that let shoppers scan their items as they go and keep a running receipt that's charged to their Amazon accounts. People without accounts are still able to shop at Amazon Fresh by checking out at the store's registers.
In addition to stocking national brands, produce and meats, Amazon Fresh stores carry the company's private-label brands Aplenty and 365. The store in Northern Liberties also will have a selection of beer and wine.
Bush did not have updates on two other potential local Amazon Fresh stores where the retailer has permits, including one at 9960 Roosevelt Blvd. in Northeast Philadelphia and one at 403 West Chester Pike in Havertown, Delaware County.
The opening in Northern Liberties will give the neighborhood a third large supermarket along with the Acme at 2nd Street and Girard Avenue and the new Sprouts Farmers Market that opened last month on Christopher Columbus Boulevard. The Amazon Fresh also is close to Asian grocer New Spring Garden Supermarket near the corner of 4th Street.