Amazon Fresh opens in Oak Lawn

Amazon Fresh opened Thursday in Oak Lawn, the third Chicago suburb in the past two months to launch the new grocery concept from the e-commerce giant.

The 35,000-squarefoot store, at 4031 W. 95th St., is the main anchor at the redeveloped Oak Lawn Commons shopping center and “brings hundreds of much needed jobs,” Oak Lawn Mayor Sandra Bury said in a news release.

Amazon last year announced it would open Fresh stores in four Chicago suburbs and hire 1,500 people. It opened in Naperville in December, in Schaumburg last month and a store has been announced for Bloomingdale.

The Chicago market is the first outside of California for Amazon Fresh, threatening to disrupt the competitive grocery industry with new technology that aims to offer greater convenience. The nascent chain is the company’s largest investment in physical retail stores since it bought Whole

Foods in 2017.

The high-tech shopping experience includes the option to use Dash Carts, which use cameras, sensors and scales to identify the items selected and ring them up, allowing customers to skip the checkout line. Terminals outfitted with voice-enabled Alexa, Amazon’s personal assistant technology, help shoppers locate products and offer recipe suggestions.

Its assortment includes big national brands as well as local brands, Whole Foods Market’s 365 organics line and Amazonexclusive brands. It aims for low prices, including $1.79 pizza slices and 15cent bananas.

Prime members can get free same-day delivery and pickup.

As it opens during the pandemic, Amazon said the stores are operating at 50% capacity.

Hours at the Oak Lawn store are 7 am to 10 pm daily, with the first hour reserved for customers who are 60 years and older, those with disabilities and those whom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines as high risk for COVID-19.