SAUGUS — While some residents expressed displeasure with Amazon’s plans to open an Amazon Fresh location — the first of its kind in the region — local officials hailed the move, seeing the store as an opportunity to grow the town’s economy.
“I am thrilled to see Amazon Fresh come to town, it will certainly create dozens of new jobs here, and it will be great for our local economy,” said Selectman Corinne Riley.
She said she believed that competition was good for the local shoppers who will now have more options of where they want to shop, since the departure of Big Y, and that people will now be able to find another store that they feel comfortable shopping at.
Selectman Debra Panetta said that the residents have been waiting for Amazon Fresh to open up for a very long time, and that there was a lot of discussion about it on social media.
“I hope that they open up soon, which will give Saugus residents and other communities more options for shopping,” said Panetta.
She also said that she heard there was a discussion that the opening of Amazon Fresh could potentially bring more traffic to the area, but she said that if any other place opened on Route 1, it would potentially create the same traffic.
Panetta said that her mother lived just around the corner from the place Amazon Fresh was going to be opened, and that she was looking forward to the store opening.
“We as Saugus residents are looking forward to trying it out and seeing what’s being offered,” said Panetta.
She said that she personally shopped at Stop&Shop, at Market Basket, and she loved Trader Joe’s, and she used to go to Big Y, and she hoped to continue most of her shopping in Saugus, and the new Amazon Fresh store gave her more shopping options.
“Let’s give them a chance,” said Panetta.
She said that once the store opens up, she would be the one going there and checking out, and that she hoped that the prices would be good and the food would be of good quality, and it would be generally a good shopping option for Saugus residents.
“I am seeing it as a positive thing,” said Panetta.
Michael Sullivan, chair of Saugus Cultural Council, said that he would also love to have another grocery store in the town. He said that Route 1 was an underutilized asset of the town, and that bringing in a cutting-edge business was a good thing, because it would help bring in other cutting-edge businesses on Route 1 to help the town’s tax base.
“I will probably go there,” said Sullivan.
Oksana Kotkina can be reached at [email protected].
