The Jackson Apartments (Image: Vulcan)
Amazon’s latest maneuverings in its ongoing disruption of the nation’s grocery industry will bring an abrupt end for a key store in the Central District.
The future of grocery shopping at 23rd and Jackson is uncertain after the retail giant announced Tuesday it is shutting down every single one of its more than 60 Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh groceries across the country. Most stores are set to close February 1st.
Amazon has said it plans to open more than 100 new Whole Foods stores including some that will take over its previous Amazon Fresh and Go locations but it has not provided specifics of which stores will be replaced and when the transition would happen.
There are more than 550 Whole Foods locations now across the country.
At 23rd and Jackson, the arrival of an Amazon grocery was celebrated as the store opened in 2021 in new mixed-use development. The neighborhood’s Red Apple grocery was demolished to make way for construction of the Jackson Apartments, a set of seven-story buildings from developer Vulcan Real Estate with more than 500 apartments, a whopping 44,000 square feet of commercial space, a massive amount of underground parking with room for more than 500 vehicles, and a 25,000-square-foot main retail space.
Amazon’s entry into the grocery business has been aggressive and its rapid movements have left neighborhoods whipsawed. Its shifting business prospects already saw the retail giant shutter its E Pike Amazon Fresh grocery store that has has remained empty since its equally abrupt April 2024 closure after four years of business on the block.
In 2025, the 40,000-square-foot Whole Foods at the corner of Broadway and Madison was also abruptly shuttered. The Broadway closure came as the Amazon-run company said “performance and growth potential” were behind the decision. CHS reported that a massive $173 million real estate deal and a Whole Foods-friendly lease clause were also in play.
Rumblings about larger Amazon shifts contributed to then-Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and District 3 Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth’s support for the city’s ban on “negative use restrictions” officials say limit the reopening of grocery stores and pharmacies by other companies as Seattle faces ongoing big chain shutdowns.
It isn’t clear if any of the leases for the Amazon stores to now be shuttered were impacted by the new ordinance.
As for the possibility Amazon might open a Whole Foods at 23rd and Jackson or elsewhere in the Central District or on Capitol Hill, the numbers will rule. Analysts say the company values locations with high-income demographics that align with Whole Foods’ customer base, stores in the 35,000 to 45,000-square-foot Whole Foods sweet spot, and proximity — sites that are not already within a few mile radius of existing Whole Foods locations.
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