By Mike Hazlip—
Demolition has begun on the center section of the Sunrise Village shopping center to make way for a new 38,000-square-foot unnamed grocery store to occupy the space, but rumor has it that the grocer is Amazon Fresh.
Amazon spokeswoman Laura Hayes told The Sentinel in an email Thursday the company does not comment on future store locations, but several sources with close knowledge of the project identified Amazon Fresh as the grocer slated to open at Sunrise Village.
Amazon Fresh uses technology to integrate customer shopping lists with their Amazon account, enabling them to walk out of the store without standing in line at the checkout. The company tracks items selected by the customer and bills their Amazon account.
Amazon is known for being silent about plans for its grocery concept stores to open in other parts of the country. An Ohio-based news outlet reported Amazon being mum about plans for a new grocery store in Cleveland and said the company is known for using a generic “National Grocer” name for its projects elsewhere.
MerloneGeier Partners, which owns the shopping center in Citrus Heights, lists the tenant only as “grocer coming soon” in its online marketing information. A request for comment was not returned by Friday.
Sunrise Marketplace Executive Director Kathilynn Carpenter told The Sentinel the redevelopment project at Sunrise Village was delayed due to Covid, but could not confirm the new grocery tenant.
Reports by Minnesota-based Twin Cities Pioneer Press and Ohio-based Cleveland.com both describe a “national grocer” set to occupy vacant retail spaces in their respective areas. Both news outlets report tight secrecy surrounding the projects.
A March 2021 report by Supermarket News said Amazon was planning to open 28 more stores throughout the country, and Bloomberg reported Amazon is working on stores “From Philadelphia to the Sacramento Suburbs.” As of June, the company has 33 Amazon Fresh locations open.
Reports by ABC 10 and the Sacramento Bee show Amazon Fresh is positioned to expand in the Sacramento region, with one store confirmed to be opening in Roseville.
The shopping center at the northwest corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Madison Avenue has seen ongoing development beginning last year with JoAnn’s moving into a new space at the center last March. The middle section of the center that was formerly home to JoAnn Fabrics is now under construction with much of the parking lot fenced off and heavy equipment at the site.
The new grocery store will also join several new tenants in the renovated Sunrise Village shopping plaza. According to leasing information, a new City Sports gym will also be occupying a 36,000-square-foot space next to Rite Aid, although an opening date has not been announced.
