Amazon Fresh at Potomac Yard to close

Richmond Highway store opened in July 2024 to long-awaited fanfare; company shifting investment to Whole Foods

The Amazon Fresh store at Potomac Yard will close after less than two years in business, the company announced Monday, as part of a nationwide decision to shutter all Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go physical stores.

The 50,000-square-foot grocery store at 3801 Richmond Highway opened in July 2024 after the former Shoppers Food Warehouse space sat vacant for years.

Amazon said it had not yet created a distinctive customer experience with the right economic model for large-scale expansion of its Amazon-branded stores.

The Potomac Yard store was the seventh Amazon Fresh location in the D.C. region when it opened and featured the company’s latest store design, with a wide selection of national brands, fresh produce and Amazon private-label products. The company said it brought dozens of jobs to the area and partnered with Capital Area Food Bank.

Amazon said it is working to help affected employees find roles elsewhere in the company, including across its operations network.

The final day for most Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations reportedly will be Sunday, Feb. 1. Amazon has not said which of its 57 Amazon Fresh and 15 Amazon Go stores will be converted to the Whole Foods banner, leaving the future of the Potomac Yard space uncertain.

The closure marks a reversal for Amazon’s brick-and-mortar grocery ambitions in Alexandria, where the Potomac Yard location had been delayed for years as the company retooled its format. Plans for another Amazon Go store at Bailey’s Crossroads also never materialized.

Amazon said it will instead invest in expanding Whole Foods Market, which has a location at 1700 Duke St. in Old Town. The company plans to open more than 100 new Whole Foods stores nationwide over the next few years and will convert some former Amazon Fresh and Go sites to the Whole Foods banner.

Customers can continue to shop Amazon Fresh online for delivery in the Alexandria area, the company said.