Is the Bensalem Amazon Fresh finally opening?

Is the biggest retail mystery in Bensalem — the long awaited opening of the Amazon Fresh supermarket — finally about to be solved?

Don’t count on it.

While social media posts showed workers inside the seemingly abandoned high-tech grocery store in the Brookwood Shopping Center off Street Road earlier this week, the activity was apparently short-lived.

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On Thursday, the parking lot was empty, as were the yet-to-be used shopping cart bays. A Bensalem construction permit issued in March 2021 for a grocery fitout is still posted on the otherwise papered-over windows.

The white and neon green “Amazon Fresh” sign with its signature brand smile has been removed.

The fate of the former K-Mart site remains unknown even to people you’d think would know like Bensalem Mayor Joe DiGirolamo and Ken Farrall, the township’s director of building and planning.

A glimmer of hope that the project may be moving forward came late last year when the developer came in for revised permits to replace refrigeration units, Farrall said. It was the first time the developer had requested new permits in nearly two years.

The refrigeration work was completed in February, Farrall said.

But since then, the township has heard nothing.

There is no indication the store is ready to open its doors at all, let alone soon, Farrall added. The Bensalem store was supposed to open in November 2022, according to the township.

“They have been very hush hush,” Farrall added. “I don’t even know what is going on there. We have no idea.”

At the start of construction the developer obtained all the permits the township required for the job including the use and occupancy; it means the store can open whenever it wants without notifying the township, Farrall said.

Amazon has not responded to repeated calls over the last two years asking about its plans for the store in Bensalem or one planned for Lincoln Plaza in Middletown, which also looks ready to open but there is no activity at the Lincoln Highway store.

Typically, Amazon gives no indication of an opening date. The first sign it may be ready to open soon is usually when jobs are posted for the stores. That hasn't happened for either the Bensalem or Middletown locations.

A regional director with Bensalem MLZ LLC , the Bensalem project's developer, did not respond to an email Thursday requesting an update.

DiGirolamo said the recent permit activity and reports of workers inside the building have piqued his curiosity.

“Hopefully it's a good sign,” he said.

Amazon Fresh opened its first Pennsylvania store in Warrington in August 2021. The store in the Creekview Center remains open.

The Bensalem and Middletown stores have become known as "zombie" storefronts, joining other planned Amazon Fresh stores across the country that were built, near completion and never opened.

In February, Amazon CEO said during an earnings call the company was not abandoning its Amazon Fresh concept.

The Progressive Grocer reported that instead it was "adjusting its approach and model," but since the call earlier this year none of the stores have opened. Two opened stores were renovated and could help the brand ultimately decide to expand and open more stores, according to the supermarket industry publication.

Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Activity at Amazon Fresh in Bensalem sparks questions on opening