Amazon Fresh Store To Open May 5 In Murrieta, Company Announces

MURRIETA, CA — After much preparation, an Amazon Fresh grocery store in Murrieta will begin welcoming customers next month.

The 35,000-square-foot store at 40481 Murrieta Hot Springs Road in Murrieta Town Center will open at 7 a.m. on May 5, the Seattle-based company announced Thursday. Opening-day shoppers can expect gift card giveaways, free samples, and special discounts on items across the store, the company's announcement said.

Amazon Fresh features produce, meat and seafood, as well as prepared foods made daily in-store — from bread and made-to-order pizzas to rotisserie chickens and hot sandwiches.

The Murrieta location will be the very first Amazon Fresh store in Riverside County and is part of six new Southern California Amazon Fresh store openings. A new Mission Viejo store at 26940 Crown Valley Parkway opened Thursday and a La Verne store is set to open on April 28 at 2229 Foothill Blvd. Other stores coming to the Southland include locations in Huntington Beach, Moorpark and Westlake Village, according to the company.

With the Murrieta opening, there will be 14 Amazon Fresh stores in Southern California and 30 across the country, the company reported.

"We’re thrilled to continue our expansion into Southern California, bringing new, low-priced grocery stores to these communities," according to the company announcement.

In total, more than 1,500 full- and part-time employees were being sought for the new Southern California stores. At the Murrieta location, pay starts at $16.40 an hour and many new hires have already begun work to get the store ready for shoppers.

"Our Murrieta store will employ hundreds of employees," a company spokesperson said in February.

Murrieta Mayor Jonathan Ingram said he is looking forward to the store's opening.

"We're so excited to welcome the first Amazon Fresh store to Murrieta and to Riverside County," Ingram said earlier this year. "Not only will this new store provide members of our community with a convenient, quality, and well-priced grocery option close to home, but it will also create hundreds of jobs right here in Murrieta."

The Murrieta store will offer Just Walk Out Shopping, which lets customers skip the checkout line. Customers who opt for the tech convenience can enter the store by scanning the In-Store QR code in their Amazon app, using Amazon One, or inserting a credit or debit card to open the Just Walk Out gates. Once inside the store, customers can shop like normal: Anything they take off the shelf is automatically added to their virtual cart, and anything they put back on the shelf comes out of their virtual cart. At the end of their trip, customers who shop with Just Walk Out scan or insert their entry method again to exit.

Amazon Fresh accepts cash, SNAP/EBT, credit or debit card, or customers can use the In-Store QR code in the Amazon app.

The Murrieta store hours will be 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.