The Amazon Fresh store at 1837 Street Road in Bensalem is set to close just five months after opening, following Amazon’s announcement that it will shut down all Amazon Fresh stores nationwide as the company exits the physical Fresh grocery format. The decision, announced Tuesday, includes the Bensalem location, along with two other Bucks County stores in Oxford Valley and Warrington, bringing Amazon’s physical Fresh presence in Lower Bucks County to an end.
The Bensalem store occupies a 42,000-square-foot space inside a former Kmart building and opened in August 2024 after a prolonged delay that extended nearly a year beyond the original timeline. The location had been scheduled to open earlier, but economic challenges forced Amazon to postpone the launch. During the extended vacancy, township officials and residents questioned whether the project would move forward at all. In earlier reporting, Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo described the long-vacant property as an “eyesore.” The store eventually opened after the lengthy delay, becoming a long-anticipated addition to the Street Road retail corridor, before its operation ended in less than six months.
The Bensalem closure is part of a statewide exit. In addition to the three Bucks County locations, Amazon Fresh stores in Broomall, Willow Grove, and Philadelphia will also close, leaving no Amazon Fresh stores in Pennsylvania. The closures follow Amazon’s decision to shut down the physical Fresh grocery format and restructure its grocery operations.
Amazon has stated that it will consolidate its physical grocery presence around Whole Foods Market while continuing online grocery delivery and pickup services. The company has announced plans to open 100 new Whole Foods Market stores over the next several years and has said that some closed Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations may be converted into Whole Foods Markets, though no specific sites have been identified, and no Bucks County locations have been named for conversion.
The company’s grocery business generates more than $150 billion in gross sales annually. Amazon launched its grocery operations more than 20 years ago and expanded its physical footprint with the acquisition of Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion. Along with Amazon Fresh, the company will also eliminate the Amazon Go store format under the same restructuring plan.
The closure leaves the former Kmart property on Street Road without a long-term tenant once again. The 42,000-square-foot space has seen multiple retail concepts attempt to establish a presence over the past decade and has struggled to maintain continuous occupancy. Township officials will now need to secure a new tenant for one of the largest retail properties in Bensalem’s main commercial corridor.
Amazon has not announced a specific closure date for the Bensalem store, and no store-level timeline has been released. The company has not provided local employment details but has stated that employees affected by store closures are typically offered transfers to other Amazon locations or severance packages.
