Amazon Fresh of Citrus Heights will open to the public Thursday, Nov. 7. Photo by Thomas J. Sullivan

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Citrus Heights' newest grocery store, Amazon Fresh, opens 8 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 7 with an 8 a.m. public ribbon cutting ceremony in the Sunrise Village shopping center at the corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Madison Avenue.

Construction crews of the general contractor, W.L. Butler, headquartered in Redwood City, have been completing a range of pre-opening finishing touches within portions of a fenced-in area of the parking lot marking designated pick-up parking spaces where customer orders will be picked up. New green shopping carts are also now lined up outside the store’s main entrance in anticipation of opening day customers.

The grand opening ceremony will feature music, samples, games and a chance to win $500 toward groceries. The first 100 customers in line receive an Amazon.com gift card and a free exclusive Citrus Heights themed tote bag while supplies last, according to the company.

Amazon Retail LLC, which is doing business as Amazon Fresh, is the company’s third grocery store location in the region, according to the company’s website. Online, the company also lists Amazon Fresh locations in Elk Grove and Roseville.

The new grocery store will open at 5425 Sunrise Blvd., features its latest brick-and-mortar design. Customers will be able to find national brands, produce and protein, as well as Amazon's private-labeled brands, such as Aplenty, Amazon Fresh, Amazon Saver and 365 by Whole Foods Market.

Amazon Fresh opened its first retail location in Woodland Hills in September 2020 and has since been joined by more than 40 locations in California, Illinois, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington State and New Jersey, as well as the Washington, D.C. area.

The Citrus Heights grocery store will feature a wide assortment of “national brands and high-quality produce, meat, and seafood,” as well as a range of prepared foods made fresh in store every day, according to the company.

In select stores where Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” shopping is available, customers who opt for Just Walk Out Shopping can enter the store in three ways: they can scan the QR code in their Amazon app, use Amazon One to scan their palm to enter or insert a credit or debit card linked to their Amazon account.

For a more traditional shopping experience, customers can enter the store through designated gates and use one of the checkout lanes staffed by Amazon store employees. When they’re ready to check out, customers then have the option to pay with cash, credit or debit card, Amazon One or the Amazon app.

According to a submitted letter by Amazon Fresh to the City of Citrus Heights, the grocer, Amazon Retail LLC, doing business as Amazon Fresh, will also sell beer, wine, and spirits and provide “limited alcohol instructional tastings” in a designated alcohol sampling area.

Amazon Fresh had filed a public notice of application with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to sell alcoholic beverages at its new Citrus Heights location on May 28.

Tastings will be small samples and be offered by trained beverage suppliers or employees to customers 21 years and older, in accordance with Alcoholic Beverage Control regulations.

Sunrise Village Plaza at the corner of Madison Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard in Citrus Heights is owned by the San Francisco-based Merlone-Geier investment company. The center is undergoing a $15-to-20 million remodeling and expansion project, which also includes new landscaping and upgraded signage.

Redevelopment of the 150,000-square-foot Sunrise Village shopping center has been ongoing since the first quarter of 2021.

The grocery store hours have been listed as 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. For more information, visit: www.amazongrocery.com/grocerystore/citrusheights.