Amazon Fresh is still finding its footing as a brick-and-mortar grocery retailer as the company shutters two more locations.
The retailer confirmed the closure plans for a store in Thousand Oaks, California, as well as one in Manassas, Virginia, after an “assessment of our offering,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement Wednesday evening.
The Manassas location officially closed its doors on March 16 while the Thousand Oaks store won’t officially cease operations until April 27, the spokesperson confirmed. Separate WARN notices for each store state that 88 employees were affected by the Manassas store closure and 76 were impacted by the Thousand Oaks store closure.
Both Amazon Fresh locations were short-lived, with the Manassas store debuting in June 2022 and the Thousand Oaks location opening in August 2022. At the time of its opening, the Thousand Oaks store was one of Amazon’s locations featuring its coveted Just Walk Out frictionless checkout technology, local news outlets reported. However, Amazon pulled the technology from all of its brick-and-mortar grocery retail spaces, including Whole Foods Market, in April 2024.
“We remain committed to Amazon Fresh and our broader grocery strategy, and will continue to refine our portfolio of stores as we learn which locations and features resonate most with customers,” the spokesperson said.
Despite these changes, Amazon is still planning openings under its revamped Amazon Fresh store format. A new Amazon Fresh store is coming to Silver Spring, Maryland, on March 27, the company confirmed. The location will reside at 12345 Columbia Pike in the White Oak Town Center, which also houses a Jersey Mike’s Subs, Starbucks, Oak Barrel & Vine liquor store and First Watch restaurant, Bethesda Magazine reported.
The Silver Spring opening is long overdue, as the storefront’s opening was delayed when Amazon paused its national expansion of its Amazon Fresh fleet in early 2023, the magazine noted.
Amazon Fresh currently operates 62 stores across nine states.
