The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

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Edric Floyd
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The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by Edric Floyd »

July 28, 2010, Winn Dixie announces the closure of 30 "Underperforming" stores. This includes two stores close to where I live in Central Georgia that are each far from the remaining core markets where Winn-Dixie still maintains a presence. (My notes about store location in blue )

The list of stores closing (posted on WESH.com and later on Winn-Dixie's website)

Alabama

Helena
Store 469 - 335 Helena Market Place, 35080


Florida

Boca Raton
Store 263 - 291 W. Camino Real, 33432
I grew up in the area so I remember this store opened sometime in the early 1970's. It shared the shopping center with a SuperX drug store and was across the street from a "white columns" style Publix Market with Eckerd Drug Store. The Winn Dixie was a standard build for the 1970's and had minimal updates over the years (fresh paint etc.) Their competition Publix moved into a new location a mile east in the late 1990's and the original Publix building became a FRESH MARKET store with mimimal exterior remodeling. By then the Winn Dixie saw remodeling with the shopping center making upgrades. By 2005 this store had modern Winn Dixie sinage and minimal upgrades inside but not up to par with the modern shopping traditions of a very upscale Boca Raton Florida. I was very surprised this store was still open on my last visit to the area at Thanksgiving 2009.

Boynton Beach
Store 256 - 4770 N. Congress Ave., 33426
Store 257 - 9840 Military Trail, 33436


Clermont
Store 2334 - 1100 US Hwy 27, 34711
This store was a 1990's vintage "Marketplace" store, possibly the original Winn Dixie to what used to be a mostly rural area near Orlando.

Deerfield Beach
Store 265 - 1101 S. Military Trail, 33442
This store was a mid 1990's "Marketplace" store that replaced TWO locations, Pompano Beach corner of W. Sample Road and Military Trail and Deerfield Beach corner of Military Trail and W. Hillsboro Blvd. The two stores replaced were 1970's vintage Winn-Dixies and this store # 265 was located on Military Trail at Sawgrass Expressway half way between the other two stores. This store competed with a small 1980's vintage Publix a 1/2 mile south and served the CENTURY VILLAGE retirement community.

Delray Beach
Store 268 – 1565 S. Congress Ave., 33445

Deltona
Store 2241 - 1200 Deltona Blvd., 32725

Ft. Lauderdale
Store 230 - 2420 North Federal Hwy., 33301
This store was built in the 1980's on the site of a former JEFFERSON'S (Jefferson Wards) department store replacing a 1960's/1970's vintage store 2 blocks north. The original store was a Quick Chek store in the early/mid 1970's and signs were changed to Winn-Dixie by the late 1970's, but the building was definitely a familiar WD style for that time. Since the mid 1980's the original WD store has been a Walgreens and after renovations in the 1990's, it bears no resemblence to the former supermarket.

Greenacres
Store 356 - 6356 Forest Hill Blvd., 33415

Jacksonville
Store 6 - 10915 Baymeadows Road, 32256

Lake Worth
Store 260 - 6600 Hypoluxo Road, 33462
Store 281 - 4105 State Road 7, 33467
Store 337 - 6406 W. Lake Worth Road, 33463

Leesburg
Store 2347 - 1103 W. North Blvd., 34748

Loxahatchee
Store 288 - 5060 Seminole Pratt-Whitney Road, 33470

Orlando
Store 2216 - 2103 Americana Blvd., 32839
Store 2281 - 4400 Hoffner Road, 32812
Store 2652 - 4520 S. Semoran Blvd., 32822
Store 2654 - 10537 E. Colonial Drive, 32817

Pembroke Pines
Store 278 - 15859 Pines Blvd., 33027

Plantation
Store 222 - 901 North Nob Hill Road

Poinciana
Store 2265 - 900 Cypress Pkwy., 34759

Sarasota
Store 668 - 3500 N. Tamiami Trail, 34234

Titusville
Store 2209 - 700 Cheney Hwy., 32780


Georgia

Bonaire
Store 1854 - 785 Hwy 96, 31005
I have lived in this area for 16 years so THIS IS (WAS) MY LOCAL WINN DIXIE since it opened in 1998. Looking back, it was doomed from the start. When it opened it was one of two Winn Dixie stores in the Warner Robins area the "original" location in Warner Robins closed in 2001. A "Marketplace" store, when it was built, #1854 was the ONLY supermarket in a growing residential area. The FIRST shopping along Houston County's stretch of Ga HWY 96. The ONLY grocery and the only Pharmacy within a 5 mile radius. The closest store was a small Food Lion on the other side of the "Feagin Mill" neighborhood. It's pricing was always on the high side because of the lack of close competition. And Bonaire is a community where everyone drives a great distance to work and other shopping. If they worked at nearby Robins Air Force Base, they passed Kroger, Publix, Food Lion, a former Foodmax and now a Walmart along the way. If Bonaire residents commuted to Macon they had the same options there. Most shopping could be done on the way home instead at the "hometown supermarket". Winn Dixie was treated like a last resort neighborhood store or the place you would go to if you just didn't feel like driving 10-15 minutes anywhere else on a weekend.

This store started with great opportunities missed. It contained the first bank in the area, CB&T Bank had an in store branch that moved out of the store less than two years later joining other banks building in the area and the bank was never replaced. And traffic at this store decreased over the years with the building of a CVS Pharmacy across the street, a Publix in 2005 2 miles west, Walgreens in 2007 and the final nail in this Winn Dixie's coffin came just a few months ago with a new Kroger (including starbucks and fuel center) directly across the street.


Dublin
Store 1812 - 2101 Veterans Blvd., 321021
This was a 1990's vintage "Marketplace" store that shared a center with Walmart. And its competition was two FoodMax stores, a Kroger and an independently owned Piggly Wiggly, all of which were smaller stores. When the 2005 Bankruptcy closings occurred, this Winn Dixie survived as the lone store in the chain, far from any remaining store in the chain. The closest was the Bonaire store 50 miles west then Americus which was over 100 miles away. It seemed insane for WD to maintain a store so far away from its core marketing area.

The Kroger was replaced with a store twice its size with starbucks and a fuel center. The FoodMax stores became Southern Family Foods and one store immediately closed. Then Winn-Dixies neighbor Walmart moved into a supercenter in 2009. The second Southern Family Foods closed 6 months later and now on schedule, 6 months after Southern Family closed, the Winn Dixie is closing. Besides being so far from the closest branch, this store would have suffered greatly from traffic because the new Walmart built in a location along the new US 441 bypass that will detour all major shopping traffic away from the Winn Dixie's somewhat hidden location.

Winn Dixie's Georgia closings make it official. The chain now only serves the Columbus, Albany and Valdosta areas. However only the Columbus and Valdosta area stores had seen any remodeling since the bankruptcy.


Louisiana
Marrero
Store 1416 - 5969 Lapalco Blvd., 70072


Mississippi
Meridian
Store 536 - 2120 Hwy 19 North, 39305
Store 2621 - 1700 North Frontage Road, 39301
Steve Landry
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Re: The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by Steve Landry »

24 stores in Florida alone?

Wow.......will anyone ever give the citizens of Florida a choice again besides Publix?

(I'm exagerating of course......but what a trend, in that State)
The Food Fair Empire
rich
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Re: The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by rich »

I thought they were supposed to be back from the dead. Closing geographically marginal stores might make sense, but so many in Florida is interesting. have they been building or planning new stores?
dooneyt63
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Re: The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by dooneyt63 »

While the large number of Florida closures at first looks pretty alarming, it is really a very small number since the vast majority of their stores are in the state. I can't speak to every location, but a number are in metro areas where there are other Winn Dixie stores. In the 1980's and 1990's, it was very common to build stores near subdivisions and new developments, leaving both WD and Publix with lots of stores in some areas. As time has passed, people seem more mobile and less resistant to driving a little distance to shop at the store of their choice.

One store I can specifically speak to is the Sarasota store at 3500 N. Tamiami Trail. This store dates from the 1950's, though it has been expanded to incorporate a drugstore and variety store that once shared the site. Though there is no doubt the store has been around, the expansion and remodeling makes it appear somewhat newer than its actual age. Prior to the expansion, the store had been left almost untouched since it was new save a few cosmetic and equipment changes from time to time. In 1981-1982, when I lived down the street, the store (and for that matter, the Publix formerly across the street at Trail Plaza) seemed like a time warp from at least the 1960's. At that time, it shared the space it now occupies with Pic N Pay Drugs (an independent pharmacy) and Oney's 5&10. It stayed fairly busy then, but even the well-worn Publix had an edge. The North Trail neighborhood along U.S. 41 has become increasingly sketchy, and very little national retail beyond CVS, Dollar General, and Radio Shack remain. Publix long ago relocated to University Parkway. The Trail's decline has been odd since it borders a long-exclusive bayfront residential area, the Ringling Museums complex, and New College. To the north in Bradenton, the Bayshore Gardens area remains a vital mainstream retail area with both Publix and Winn Dixie as well as Target, etc. The departure of Winn Dixie leaves a sizable area with no nearby grocery store
Edric Floyd
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Re: The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by Edric Floyd »

This was discussed on a local website regarding the two Georgia Winn-Dixie stores slated for closure.

http://www.13wmaz.com/news/local/story. ... &catid=175

On the message board for the article one commentor said that I didn't know what I was talking about. Then another mentioned that I was a contributor to this website. So Groceteria got a plug!

And if anyone from that site visits and reads this perhaps they can learn something.

Back to the topic of Winn Dixie and thinking about the post regarding the Sarasota location.....

I already mentioned a basic history on some stores but being originally from South Florida I can attest that most of the stores listed are a minimum of 20 years old. Plantation,Loxahatchee, Lake Worth, Delray and Boynton Beach especially are stores dating back to the mid 1980's grand opening at the latest. They may have seen some cosmetic changes since the 1990's but the areas of Delray Beach and Lake Worth listed are areas that are past their prime while Publix has relocated or completely remodeled their stores multiple times to a point where almost NO Publix store bares a resemblence to any that operated in the 1970's.
dooneyt63
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Re: The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by dooneyt63 »

Edric's observations about the South Florida/East Coast stores certainly bears out my thoughts. From my most recent trip in that area (March-April 2009), many of the stores were in areas where most retail has either relocated or substantially remodeled. Publix has been especially aggressive in erasing its 1970's footprint on the area. The few remaining older stores have been massively remodeled. The pace of this program really picked up in the late 1990's and hasn't let up until now when the process is almost complete. To their credit, some of the replacements do reflect the historic style of the stores' original design, but most are dull Florida stucco generic. Prior to the Marketplace experiment, many WD stores had been allowed to languish, especially in the era when Publix was operating a number of well-used competing locations. While Publix was notably cleaner, their stores were often small and lacked large service departments. On the WD side, a lot of the early Marketplaces were just refaces and rearrangements of older stores...especially after they abandoned the large cafes and shrunk the service counter areas.

Though central Florida doesn't have as many stores on the hit list, many smaller towns and cities had tiny, near downtown stores with their original Celotex tiled ceilings still operating into the early 1990's. These gradually closed during the Marketplace buildup or the subsequent bankruptcy. Some of the stores had quite the historic, museum-like interior up to that time. Historically, WD was quicker to locate in smaller, more rural towns than Publix.
paysh
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Re: The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by paysh »

Article: "The Woes of Winn Dixie"

Here is an article from the August 10 Orlando Sentinel that brings in to serious question the future of Winn Dixie supermarkets. I have not seen an article this negative about the chain since just after their bankruptcy in 2005.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business ... 4974.story
winndixiepublix
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Re: The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by winndixiepublix »

Winn-Dixie continued to close stores after 2010
Last year they closed a local stores in


Poinciana Plaza, on 45th and Australian
in Mangonia Park, FL

The Mangonia Park, FL opened in 1984 that replaced a smaller Kwik Chek store on Dixie which is now City Market
The replacement was remodeled into a Marketplace in the mid-to late 1990's. The inside was typical, since they did lots of work inside, and didn't change until the November 2014 closure, Inside i saw the district manager and the manager of the store, he's been with the company since 1982/83. before the store closed

Forest Hills Center/Plaza on Forest Hill and Congress across from the Walgreens
in West Palm Beach, FL

That West Palm Beach location opened in 1984 with an older design outside, Inside the store likey have 70's style decor, In 1997 the store was given a Marketplace remodel
by removing older decor, later in the early 2000's, the store was given another remodel by removing 90's decor, inside they were ancient frozen food freezers that they didn't change until the November 2014 closure, That store wasn't the cleanest of Winn-Dixie.
pseudo3d
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Re: The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by pseudo3d »

Anyone know the late 2014 closures? I wonder which stores in La. they're closing.
wnetmacman
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Re: The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by wnetmacman »

pseudo3d wrote:Anyone know the late 2014 closures? I wonder which stores in La. they're closing.
According to what I heard, there was only one in Louisiana, but its location was never fully disclosed. I'd suspect either a rural store (there aren't many of those left) or one in Baton Rouge.
Scott Greer
Edric Floyd
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Re: The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by Edric Floyd »

It has been FOREVER since I logged in here but I did get an e-mail alert of recent posts.

Of Course since I last posted here Winn Dixie was gobbled up by Bi-Lo and the combined company is today known as "Bi-Lo holdings" with Bi Lo moving their headquarters to Winn Dixie's facility in Jacksonville. Then the company bought the Harvey's and Sweetbay divisions from Delhaize. The converted the Sweetbay stores to Winn Dixie and some of the Harvey's stores were converted to Winn Dixie (mostly Valdosta Georgia)and some Winn Dixies in Georgia were converted to Harveys. (Mainly Albany Georgia)

As for late 2014 closures, Winn Dixie in West Palm Beach closed in the fall of 2014 and two Winn Dixie stores in Valdosta GA only lasted a few months as Winn Dixie. They were flatly REJECTED by area shoppers after these stores were converted from Harvey's to Winn Dixie and were generally much smaller than a traditional Winn Dixie. Also the Harvey's brand has a lot of clout in South Georgia because of its roots as a hometown local grocery company (J H Harvey grocery company) before Harvey's was sold to the parent company of Food Lion.
pseudo3d
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Re: The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by pseudo3d »

wnetmacman wrote:
pseudo3d wrote:Anyone know the late 2014 closures? I wonder which stores in La. they're closing.
According to what I heard, there was only one in Louisiana, but its location was never fully disclosed. I'd suspect either a rural store (there aren't many of those left) or one in Baton Rouge.
From some Internet searching, it looks like at least one in New Orleans, which Rouses picked up.
wnetmacman
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Re: The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by wnetmacman »

pseudo3d wrote:
wnetmacman wrote:
pseudo3d wrote:Anyone know the late 2014 closures? I wonder which stores in La. they're closing.
According to what I heard, there was only one in Louisiana, but its location was never fully disclosed. I'd suspect either a rural store (there aren't many of those left) or one in Baton Rouge.
From some Internet searching, it looks like at least one in New Orleans, which Rouses picked up.
I don't believe that the two stores recently announced (Kenner and Ponchatoula) were the one announced for the end of last year. Rouses has been slowly picking up WD stores as their leases run out. WD doesn't seem to want to renew some of the older stores. Rouses takes them over and makes a good go of it. The Kenner store will be a relocation of a nearby former Sav-A-Center store whose lease has run out.

They did the same thing about a year or so ago in Raceland, LA.
Scott Greer
winndixiepublix
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Re: The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by winndixiepublix »

Edric Floyd wrote:This was discussed on a local website regarding the two Georgia Winn-Dixie stores slated for closure.

http://www.13wmaz.com/news/local/story. ... &catid=175

On the message board for the article one commentor said that I didn't know what I was talking about. Then another mentioned that I was a contributor to this website. So Groceteria got a plug!

And if anyone from that site visits and reads this perhaps they can learn something.

Back to the topic of Winn Dixie and thinking about the post regarding the Sarasota location.....

I already mentioned a basic history on some stores but being originally from South Florida I can attest that most of the stores listed are a minimum of 20 years old. Plantation,Loxahatchee, Lake Worth, Delray and Boynton Beach especially are stores dating back to the mid 1980's grand opening at the latest. They may have seen some cosmetic changes since the 1990's but the areas of Delray Beach and Lake Worth listed are areas that are past their prime while Publix has relocated or completely remodeled their stores multiple times to a point where almost NO Publix store bares a resemblence to any that operated in the 1970's.
Edrick.. The Loxahatchee store was a late 90's WD store
pseudo3d
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Re: The ever shrinking Winn-Dixie

Post by pseudo3d »

wnetmacman wrote: I don't believe that the two stores recently announced (Kenner and Ponchatoula) were the one announced for the end of last year. Rouses has been slowly picking up WD stores as their leases run out. WD doesn't seem to want to renew some of the older stores. Rouses takes them over and makes a good go of it. The Kenner store will be a relocation of a nearby former Sav-A-Center store whose lease has run out.

They did the same thing about a year or so ago in Raceland, LA.
Not sure how Winn-Dixie still survives in Louisiana, they seem to have updated the facade (store lettering only) of an old 1970s specimen in Rayne that had "The Beef People" still on the sign, and in Lafayette, there was a classic 1980s Winn-Dixie Marketplace (at least the facade, no idea on inside). Given how dated many of the stores are, not sure how Rouses could pick them up.

That said, they have a good showing in New Orleans (no other regional/national chain besides Rouses, which is almost exclusively found there) and Baton Rouge (competing against independents but also Albertsons).
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