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An Amazon Fresh grocery store is expected to soon fill the vacancy Waldbaum’s left behind in Setauket’s Suffolk Plaza six years ago.
An application filed by Amazon Retail LLC with the New York State Liquor Authority to sell beer and wine in a grocery store confirms the Amazon Fresh location at Suffolk Plaza on Nesconset Highway.
Various site plans and applications submitted to the Town of Brookhaven indicated a new grocery store would come to the area. However, there is no mention of Amazon Retail LLC or Amazon.com Inc. in those documents.
Back in June 2020, Ronkonkoma-based Kelly’s Expediting filed an application with the Town of Brookhaven to split the former Waldbaum’s into two retail spaces. A revised site plan from this past July indicated the larger 37,000-square-foot storefront was earmarked for a grocery.
It is not known what may occupy the other nearly 20,000 square feet of adjacent retail space.
The Setauket location is the third Amazon Fresh planned for Long Island. The other two previously reported locations are in Oceanside and Plainview.
The company has grown its overall footprint on Long Island in recent years. In addition to grocery stores, there are “last-mile” delivery centers in Shirley, Bethpage and Carle Place, and others in various stages of planning and construction slated for Holbrook, Syosset, Westhampton Beach and Hauppauge.
Amazon.com LLC did not respond to Greater Long Island’s inquiries regarding the Setauket Amazon Fresh store applications submitted earlier this year.
High-tech shopping
Many details surrounding the Setauket Amazon Fresh remain unkown. However, if the company’s 21 previous Amazon Fresh locations are an indication, Long Islanders can expect a futuristic shopping experience, one that bypasses the traditional checkout process.
Most of Amazon Fresh stores utilize smart Amazon Dash Cart, large enough for one or two bags of groceries, according to the companies website. Customers enter the store, grab a Dash Cart, scan a QR code, and start filling their bags.
“The cart uses a combination of computer vision algorithms and sensor fusion to identify items you put in the cart,” the website explains. “When you exit through the store’s Amazon Dash Cart lane, sensors automatically identify the cart, and your payment is processed using the credit card on your Amazon account.”
Top photo: Facebook / Amazon Fresh (Plainview)
