Amazon Fresh Bensalem closing
If you’re a Bensalem resident, you might be feeling a bit of whiplash today.
Just as we were getting used to the “Just Walk Out” tech and those smart Dash Carts at 1837 Street Road (Brookwood Shopping Center), the news dropped this morning: Amazon is closing its Amazon Fresh supermarkets.
According to reports, the company plans to shutter the Fresh brand entirely, with a select number of locations being converted into Whole Foods Markets. For our store at 1837 Street Road, this announcement brings a frustrating sense of déjà vu and a lot of questions about what comes next for one of the township’s most prominent retail spaces.
The Short, Strange Life of Amazon Fresh Bensalem
To understand why this stings, you have to look at the timeline. This store has had one of the rockiest roads in Bensalem retail history:
- The “Zombie” Years: After Kmart closed, Amazon leased the space and finished construction way back in 2021. But then… nothing. For nearly three years, the fully furnished store sat dark, becoming a local mystery and a source of frustration for the township.
- The Brief Run: It finally opened its doors on August 22, 2024.
- The End: Now, in January 2026—less than 18 months after that grand opening—it’s set to close or change hands again.
A Pattern of Pulling Back?
This isn’t the first time in the last year that Amazon has reduced its footprint in our backyard. Residents will remember that just last summer (August 2025), Amazon closed its delivery station on State Road, laying off or transferring workers because the facility was deemed “obsolete” compared to newer hubs.
With the Fresh store now on the chopping block, it feels like Bensalem is bearing the brunt of Amazon’s corporate restructuring. The promise of tech-heavy retail and logistics jobs in the township seems to be fading as quickly as it arrived.
The Big Question: Whole Foods or Empty Storefront?
The news suggests that some Fresh locations will be rebranded as Whole Foods. Could Bensalem make the cut?
The Case for Whole Foods:
- No Local Presence: There is currently no Whole Foods in Bensalem. You have to drive to Jenkintown, Newtown, or Princeton to find one.
- Turnkey Ready: The building is brand new, modern, and already set up for grocery. It would be an easy flip.
- Property Value Boost: A Whole Foods often acts as an anchor that attracts other high-end businesses, which could revitalize the entire Brookwood Shopping Center.
The Case for Concern:
If Amazon decides the demographics of Street Road don’t fit the Whole Foods model, we face the “nightmare scenario”: The return of the vacant box. We all remember how the empty Kmart shell dragged down the look of the shopping center for years.
Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo had previously called the vacant 42,000-square-foot space—formerly a Kmart—an “eyesore” during the prolonged wait for Amazon to complete the store.
If Amazon walks away entirely, we are left with a massive 42,000-square-foot hole in a key commercial corridor, right when we thought that problem was solved.
What This Means for Bensalem
Ultimately, this is about more than just where we buy our organic kale. It’s about the stability of our local economy.
- For Employees: The staff at the Street Road store—many of whom likely transferred from other retail jobs—are facing uncertainty again.
- For Shoppers: Those who relied on Fresh for competitive pricing on staples may find Whole Foods (if it comes) too expensive, while a closure would force everyone back into the already crowded aisles of the nearby Giant or Acme.
We waited three years for this store to open. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait that long to find out if we’re getting an upgrade or just getting abandoned.
