(Image: Amazon Fresh)
Amazon Fresh has announced it will open its 25,000 35,000-square-foot Central District store next week.
In its grand opening announcement, the Amazon grocery store chain promised “consistently low prices on a wide assortment of top brands plus high-quality produce, meat, and seafood. Enjoy delicious prepared foods made in our kitchen” plus “new ways to make grocery shopping more convenient” while announcing a roster of promotions to accompany a ribbon cutting at the 23rd and Jackson location:
Ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin shortly before we open our doors at 7:00 AM on August 12
• First 100 customers will receive an Amazon Card ranging from $5 to $100 each
• First 300 customers will receive an exclusive 23rd & Jackson tote
• Product giveaways and food sampling
• Music provided by a local DJ
• Enter for a chance to win a $250 e-gift card
“We can’t wait to meet you at the new Seattle 23rd & Jackson location,” the announcement reads.
UPDATE: In a statement sent to CHS late Thursday night, the company said the new store will bring “hundreds of high-quality jobs to the community, which offer industry-leading pay starting at $17/hr. and a variety of benefits packages that start on the employee’s first day on the job.”
“We’re thrilled to bring the first Amazon Fresh grocery store in Seattle to the Central District, providing customers with a wide selection of low-priced, high-quality fresh foods and a convenient in-store shopping experience,” David Nielson, regional manager of Amazon Fresh grocery stores, said in the statement. “We’re proud that this store has brought hundreds of great jobs to the area, and we are committed to continuing to contribute positively to the community.”
Amazon also says the store is larger than reported — some 35,000 square feet — and promises daily deals including “$0.15 cent bananas; $0.89 cent freshly baked bread; $1.79 freshly baked pizza slices; and $4.97 rotisserie chickens.”
CHS reported on the wait for the 23rd and Jackson store to open as the company debuted its latest Amazon Fresh store in Factoria in June.
The latest Amazon grocery set to open has been anticipated since city permits for the project first became public in early 2020.
The S. Jackson Amazon Fresh is part of a major redevelopment at the corner from Vulcan Real Estate on property formerly home the Promenade 23 shopping center and the neighborhood Red Apple grocery. It comes amid growing efforts to return more Black businesses to the neighborhood.
CHS reported here in March on community meetings with developer Vulcan, and Amazon discussing neighborhood hopes for the new store including local hires and more affordable groceries.
The store’s location will help fill the grocery gap left by the exit of Red Apple. For those who need to drive, there will be plenty of room. The development includes underground parking with room for more than 500 vehicles.
Amazon also operates a store from its Whole Foods chain on Broadway at Madison that opened in late 2018.
As part of the opening of its first ever Amazon Fresh stores — larger, full-featured versions of the smaller stores like the one that opened on E Pike in 2020 — the company is hyping its “Just Walk Out” features enabled by high tech scanners, sensors, and cameras that allow customers to shop without waiting at the checkout. UPDATE: A company representative says there will be no checkout-less shopping using the “Just Walk Out” system — but the company’s special carts that allow checkout-less shopping will be deployed. “We will not have JWO technology at the Seattle Jackson store, only Dash Carts,” CHS is told.
In the opening announcement, the company also confirmed the soon to open Central District grocery store’s hours. It will be open daily, 7 AM to 10 PM at 2301 S Jackson.
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Is there a link to the opening announcement? Thanks!
Putting one of these in a historic black neighborhood where a storied Seattle grocery store once stood seems criminal. Facial recognition and cameras up and down the store.
This is what’s so counterproductive about extremism, sometimes it’s just a grocery store, that’s all.
So black people are supposed to prefer inconvenience and high prices?
The only thing storied about that Red Apple was its music and the poor selection of overpriced produce. I guess that huge ass parking lot was pretty sweet too if that’s your thing.
Also no need to worry about facial recognition, it’s not used in these Fresh stores.
Yeah I dont’ get these complaints. A grocery store with a giant parking lot (remember when people were against climate change) is replaced with apartments and a cheaper grocery store (and many black-owned businesses: Simply Soulful, Boosh (sp?), QueenCare) is negative for the area.
Leave it to the far-left zealots to complain about anything with the Amazon name on it. This store is….obviously!….a big plus for the community!
There was no “storied” store there. Just a red apple. There have been 2-3 different grocery stores at that location in the 40+ years I’ve live nearby. The only “storied” store was Welch’s Hardware across 23rd. The thing that saved retail in the neighborhood was the Starbucks across Jackson
I hope the Amazon store opening brings a little life back to that corner and helps support the small businesses on the property.
Wish we had corner stores and bodegas again. #BezosGoAway
I agree, however, there are several in this area. Parnells, just down the street. Seattle Fish Guys, across the street. There’s a convenience store at 20th and Jackson. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
There are two within a three block radius of this store.
Go start one
The previous CHS article linked to here said Amazon promised to hire checkout workers at this store instead of using “just walk out” tech. Is that no longer the plan? (I’m sure they’ll blame it on the pandemic.)
If you have been to an Amazon Go store then you know that actual people are working in the stores – they just don’t check people out (they never have, so if that was in a previous article then it was an error in reporting). They stock and provide customer service.
For all of the people who seem dead-set on naysaying an Amazon Go store in this area, I genuinely would like to know what you personally are doing to help the community out. Amazon Go is an easy shopping experience with decent pricing. If you personally don’t like it then you personally can simply not shop there.
CH, You’re mixing up Go which is a convenience store with Fresh which is a grocery store. The latter has several checkout options including to do so with a clerk. Seems like Amazon’s marketing team needs to do a better job clarifying 😬
Thank you for clarifying :-)
This isn’t an Amazon Go store; it’s an Amazon Fresh store. Different brands, different systems of check-out.
Same types of bottles for employees to pee in?
Yawn 🥱
You’re right, employee rights are boring.
Sorry, I’ll let you get back to shilling for Amazon!
Still yawning. Your need to turn everything -including something as benign as a grocery store opening- into a social justice issue is so played out 🥱
So Bezos launches himself into space while his employees have such poor working conditions that they need to relieve themselves in used water bottles, but we should ignore that because: NEW GROCERY STORE OMG!!!11!
Amazon’s terrible employment practices (no they aren’t the only ones) are well beyond being a social justice issue, it’s a full on social justice crisis.
My eyes are rolling out of my head.
I volunteer weekly at central area senior center and am a formerly black resident of the CD that got pushed out due to a rent increase. Thanks for wondering what we do to help the area. Sorry, we have to drive from Byron and Rainier area now.
“and am a formerly black resident of the CD”
Formerly black? What happened there?
That’s great that you volunteer at a senior center – they’re a vulnerable population and need the help!
There will be options to checkout traditionally with a clerk and to checkout out using the “just walk out” tech. The just walk out option is basically a streamlined version of the self-checkout option found currently at grocery stores.
“The just walk out option is basically a streamlined version of the self-checkout option found currently at grocery stores.”
Uh if you think throwing items into your backpack and just leaving is like what exists in stores now, you are much better at it than me.
Streamlined. Think that’s the word that you’re glossing over here.
Currently you go around the store placing your groceries in a cart, go to a self checkout line, scan, bag, pay, and leave. These Fresh stores streamline the self checkout experience with a just walk out concept – you go around the store placing groceries in bags in your cart and leave. Of course if you wish not to use this concept for any myriad of reasons at the Fresh stores there’s still traditional checkout clerks available.
Haha I would just say it’s a bit further than streamlined, it gets rid of checkout entirely. I’m just quibbling haha.
As long as your total is less than $950, go for it, the city won’t prosecute.
I am happy it is not an Amazon Go. 7am is very early for ribbon cutting.
Lol people will bitch about anything. Sorry the store you don’t want to go to is having a ceremonial event that is too early for you that you wouldn’t go to anyway.
Easy “Barb”
You are here bitching about my comment and making assumption that it was a complaint. Most people don’t shop at 7am on a weekday.
Free gift cards
Not that early. There were hundreds there for the gift cards for only the first 100
How do prices stack up against TJ, qfc and Costco ?
This is great – a new store in the neighborhood is a good thing.
Hunger and poverty have no color in this city, we are all connected, like it or not.