Michael E.
Yelp
Four years ago, Amazon announced they would be opening a new Amazon Fresh store in Woodland Park on Rt. 46, in the location previously occupied by Fairway. The construction quickly started, an Amazon Fresh sign went up, then Amazon seemed to change their mind, and the sign came down. Nothing happened for almost four years. Fast forward to fall 2024 and the Amazon Fresh sign is curiously back up and an opening date is set for November. Recently, I visited the store. I honestly didn't know what to expect. I knew it was supposed to be Amazon's take on a high-tech supermarket, but I hoped maybe it would also be a brick-and-mortar version of Amazon.com with sections dedicated to the various things sold on the website. Well, it is a high-tech supermarket, but nothing more. On the surface the store is very impressive. At over 59,000 square feet it's huge by supermarket standards. It's gleaming, clean and bright. The aisles are wide and stretch into the horizon. When you enter the first thing you notice is an actual Krispy Kreme store, with Krispy Kreme uniformed staff manning the counter (I'll get back to that). The other thing you notice is rows of high-tech shopping carts that are unlike anything I've ever seen. Fortunately, they have employees there to explain how they work. The first thing you notice is a large touch screen mounted by the push bar. You can sign into your Amazon account or link it to the Amazon app on your phone. This allows you to immediately access Amazon Prime discounts and bypass the cashier if you choose, by paying via the app. Also, the cart has multiple UPC scanners, which detect the prices of the items in your cart. Not enough tech? The cart also has a built-in scale that measures the weight of items that are sold by the pound (like vegetables). Knowing how beat-up the shopping carts are at other supermarkets; I can only wonder how durable all this technology will be over time. I guess we'll see. In addition to the high-tech carts, there are also Alexa kiosks at various locations throughout the store to help you get a quick answer to any existential questions you might have while shopping. Once you get beyond the eye candy of the enormous store and the high-tech gizmos you sadly quickly discover this is not a place you really would want to shop. Despite the endless aisles, there's nothing here that you can't find across the street at Shoprite for less money. Everything is noticeably pricier than other local markets. Also, the selection seems far less varied than you'd hope to find in a 59,000-square-foot store. The produce, meat and fish are all rather unimpressive and don't give the impression of the freshness or quality that justifies the premium prices. Now, about that Krispy Kreme store at the entrance... Sadly, it's not really a Krispy Kreme store. At least not in the sense that they actually make Krispy Kreme donuts there, which is clearly the image that the "store" is projecting. I didn't smell the signature odor of freshly cooked donuts, so I asked the employee at the counter if they were fresh. The answer was "they were made today". Apparently, unlike the freestanding Krispy Kreme locations, they don't actually make any donuts here at all. They just get them shipped in once a day in the early hours of the morning, and that's it for the whole day. If I want a stale Krispy Kreme donut I can get it at any other supermarket, and at a cheaper price. All in all, this market was a huge disappointment, and I don't plan on returning. With Amazon's resources they really could have done something amazing here. It's a shame. Frankly, I miss Fairway.