Amazon Fresh opening soon in Bloomingdale

An Amazon Fresh grocery store will open in Bloomingdale by the end of the year.

The store, near the intersection of Army Trail Road and Gary Avenue, will be one of several in the Chicago area providing grocery services without a traditional check out. On Monday, Amazon Fresh has applied for a liquor license, which is expected to be approved.

"They did a really nice job," Mayor Franco Coladipietro said. "It's going to be something that attracts people to our community. It's definitely a win for us."

Separate from Whole Foods - which also is owned by Amazon - Amazon Fresh provides both food deliveries and in-store shopping experiences similar to other large-scale supermarkets. The first location opened in Woodland Hills, California.

Plans for the Bloomingdale location were kept secret until recently. Amazon had Coladipietro and select village officials sign nondisclosure agreements prior to the completion of the store.

In applying for the liquor license, Coladipietro said it was one of the few times Amazon publicly disclosed the store was coming to the village. Bloomingdale is expected to approve the liquor license request by Nov. 23.

The opening of Amazon Fresh locations in Bloomingdale, Naperville, Oak Lawn and Schaumburg are expected to create 1,500 jobs. Pay will start at $15 an hour and include benefits.

Stores will be integrated with Amazon Alexa for grocery lists and the Amazon Dash Cart, a shopping cart equipped with cameras and sensors to detect and even buy items put into the cart, that allows customers to quickly purchase items as soon as they are picked up.

Village Administrator Peter Scalera said Amazon spent around $5 million to renovate the space in Bloomingdale.

A specific opening date was not available. But village officials say they expect the store to open by the end of the year.