The Amazon Fresh supermarket in the Sunrise Village Shopping Center in Citrus Heights is one of three Northern California locations set to close. 

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Amazon is officially closing its Amazon Fresh supermarket in the Sunrise Village Shopping Center in Citrus Heights which opened a year and a half ago. Amazon Fresh will live on, but only online, according to the company.

Amazon Fresh is located between Club Studio Fitness and the now vacant Joanne’s Fabrics near Uplands Way.

The tech and retail giant publicly announced plans to close all of 60 Amazon Fresh grocery stores in the United States, including its Citrus Heights location, "to prioritize investment in growth areas," in a company blog post on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Three Amazon Fresh supermarkets are located in Northern California. 

The typically busy parking lot in front of the Amazon Fresh grocery in Citrus Heights was mostly vacant Tuesday afternoon with just a few customers who had parcels to pick up walking up the front entrance not yet aware of the sudden closure.

“We are closed for the remainder of the day We apologize for any inconvenience. Please come back during our regular business hours,” the window notice read.

 A notice placed in the window of the Citrus Heights Amazon Fresh location on Tuesday, Jan. 27 informed customers that the market would be closed for the rest of the day. 

Business hours have been listed from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. For updated hours and more information concerning the closure, or for parcel pick up, customers should visit amazongrocery.com/grocerystore/citrusheights.

According to the company, Amazon will close all its Amazon Fresh stores nationwide while converting some into Whole Foods Markets, the e-commerce giant reported.

The move follows a "careful evaluation of the business and how we can best serve customers," Amazon announced in its blog post.

Amazon said it will invest in the physical stores "that are resonating with customers," namely Whole Foods, and its online offerings, the popularity of which continues to grow, according to a company news release.

Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market in 2017. There are 550 Whole Food locations today across the United States.

The company opened its first Sacramento-area Fresh store in August 2024, filling a former Toys R Us space in Roseville. One month later, in September 2024, Amazon Fresh opened in Elk Grove, and then in November 2024, Amazon Fresh opened in Citrus Heights.

Citrus Heights city officials and members of the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce joined together on Nov. 7, 2024, for an official afternoon ribbon cutting ceremony where individual proclamations from county and state government representatives were read.

"We're grateful to our team members for their many contributions over the years and are working whenever possible to help them find roles elsewhere in Amazon, including across our vast operations network, as we make this transition," Amazon said in its post.

The decision creates holes in shopping centers across the Sacramento area. It was not immediately clear when the Citrus Heights Amazon Fresh store will physically close or a timeline as to when any of the region's existing Fresh stores might be converted to Whole Foods.

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 has undergone a $15-to-20 million remodeling and expansion project, which included new landscaping and upgraded signage.

At the Amazon-owned supermarkets, customers typically found 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. Payment methods included the option to pay with cash, credit or debit card, Amazon One or the Amazon app.