Amazon has confirmed that four of its Amazon Fresh grocery stores in Southern California will be shutting down in the coming weeks. The company says this is part of a larger effort to review its grocery operations and focus on stores that work better for both the company and its customers.
Let’s take a look at what is really happening, where the closures will take place, and what it could mean for you if you shop at Amazon Fresh.
Which Amazon Fresh stores are closing in Southern California
Amazon said it will be closing these four Amazon Fresh locations in the region:
- La Verne, California
- Mission Viejo, California
- La Habra, California
- Whittier, California
These closures will take effect over the next several weeks. The company did not give an exact date for each store, but it confirmed that all four are expected to close before the end of the year.
If you shop at any of these stores, you may start seeing clearance discounts and signs about the upcoming closure soon. Amazon also said that it will try to help affected employees find new roles within the company.
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Why Amazon is closing these stores
Amazon explained that it is constantly reviewing how its stores perform. According to company spokesperson Griffin Buch,
“We still believe there’s lots of room to make customers’ lives even easier when it comes to shopping for groceries, which is why we are continuing to invest in making grocery shopping easier, faster and more affordable across our 600 physical stores under our Whole Foods Market and Amazon brands. Of course, at this scale certain locations will work better than others, and when this happens, we assess and will decide in some circumstances to close a location.”
In other words, this is not about giving up on the grocery business—it is about improving how the business operates.
Amazon wants to focus more on stores that are performing well and in locations where there is more customer traffic.
How this fits into Amazon’s bigger grocery strategy
This is not the first time Amazon has closed some of its Fresh stores. The company recently closed stores in Federal Way, Washington; Manassas, Virginia; Thousand Oaks, California; and Plainview, New York.
Interestingly, the Thousand Oaks location is being converted into a Whole Foods Market, which shows that Amazon is shifting more energy toward its more established grocery brand.
At the same time, Amazon is still opening new Fresh stores in other parts of the country, including:
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (opened in August)
- Silver Spring, Maryland (opened earlier this year)
This shows that Amazon is not backing away from grocery retail—it is simply rebalancing where and how it operates.
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What makes Amazon Fresh different
Amazon Fresh stores are known for their use of technology. They feature the Dash Cart, which allows you to scan and pay for groceries directly from your cart, skipping the traditional checkout line.
Unlike the smaller Amazon Go stores, these Fresh locations do not have the full “just walk out” technology, but they do give shoppers a faster and more convenient experience.
For many customers, this tech-focused shopping model was exciting when it first launched. However, not all locations saw enough consistent foot traffic to make them profitable, especially in areas with heavy competition from chains like Trader Joe’s, Ralphs, and Target.
What happens next
Even though some stores are closing, Amazon says it remains committed to grocery retail. In the past two years, the company has opened more than 50 stores across its grocery brands.
Amazon’s everyday essentials business—covering groceries and household items—also grew nearly twice as fast as other categories in the first half of 2025.
That means while you may see fewer Amazon Fresh signs in Southern California, you will likely see more Whole Foods and new grocery concepts from Amazon in the near future.
For now, if one of your local Amazon Fresh stores is closing, it might be a good time to take advantage of some clearance deals before the doors officially shut.
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