Publix #364 / Winn-Dixie #349
5600 West Sample Road, Margate, FL - Peppertree Plaza
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| Today's post is a presentation of Broward County retail |
Straying not too far from where we were last time, we find a Winn-Dixie just across US 441/SR 7. The way the city boundaries are laid out, the east side of 441 where we'll be today falls within the City of Margate, while the other side of the road where Turtle Run Shoppes was built is part of Coral Springs. Regardless of city name, this Winn-Dixie is part of the same cluster of retail former Albertsons #4430 falls within at the busy junction of 441 and Sample Road in northern Broward County. At first glance this Winn-Dixie doesn't seem too strange, and could come across as 1980's store that had a little work done to it over the years. Part of that observation is true though - this is a 1980's store that had a little work done to it, but this was actually a 1980's Publix that Winn-Dixie did some work to! While there are a handful of Winn-Dixie to Publix conversions out there in the wild, this store is one of only 3 current Winn-Dixies that occupies a former Publix building (those others being in Jacksonville and Lake Mary, although it was recently revealed that the Lake Mary location is on its way to an Aldi conversion sometime in the near future). Out of those three examples, the Margate Winn-lix has by far had the most work done to it by Winn-Dixie, however, there are still some traces of Publix hiding in this building, even if those traits are more subtle here than in those other two examples. On top of that, the Margate Winn-lix holds a little significance in Winn-Dixie's own recent history too, so let's learn a little more about how Winn-Dixie ended up in this old Publix building:
Publix #364 opened for business on December 1, 1988 as part of Peppertree Plaza, one of the original shopping centers at the intersection of 441 and Sample Road. Store #364 was a nearly identical twin to the (now demolished) Publix that would open a year later at Coral Springs' Ramblewood Square (store #373), both featuring the same arched facade. Being that I couldn't find any photos of Publix #364 while it was open, those photos on Google Maps of #373 will have to suffice, although #364 probably had a more standard style of exterior signage falling within Margate instead of Coral Springs, a city that's known for having weird signage restrictions. Both stores were 49N Publix locations, the design known for its arched paraline ceiling over the dairy department.
Publix #364 remained in operation until February 29, 2008, when Publix (fittingly) made the leap across 441 to a new store (#1121) on the Coral Springs side of the road, across from the old Albertsons and next to an old Target (which became a school after Target moved to a new Super Target building up the road).
After sitting vacant for about a year, Winn-Dixie selected the empty Margate Publix building to mark the Floridian debut of the chain's new prototype, a design we've come to know in the retail blogosphere as the "Transformational" store (due to how this new store design was supposed to "transform" the public's reception of Winn-Dixie as a higher-class operation that could rival stores like Publix). That idea in mind, I guess it was appropriate that Winn-Dixie used an old Publix for the prototype's Floridian debut! While it took until 2010 to arrive in Florida, the origins of the Transformational store actually date back to 2008, when a Winn-Dixie in Americus, GA flattened by a tornado was rebuilt in the new style. That Georgia store was mostly swept under the rug by corporate, with the chain's next new store, located in Covington, LA, receiving all the pomp and circumstance of you'd expect from the launch of a new design. The Covington, LA store opened in February 2010, 4 months before the Margate prototype. Unlike Margate, the Covington store was a ground-up newbuild, and also unlike Margate, the Covington (and Americus) stores used the Post-Bankruptcy interior (and it's kind of weird seeing Post-Bankruptcy in that style building, almost like how weird it is to see Publix's Classy Market 3.0/Sienna decor in a modern 48M store).
So while Margate was officially the 3rd Transformational store, it was the very first to feature the customary Transformational decor that we typically associate with one of these stores. To this day, the Margate store is also one of very few (I believe less than 5) Winn-Dixies left in the chain with the Transformational decor too, as these stores were heavily targeted for Down Down and Winn Win remodels (even though these stores were still relatively new at the time those remodels were sweeping the chain). Pictured above is a peek inside this store upon its grand opening, with a little bit of the "new" decor visible in the background. One of the major selling points for how these Transformational stores were classier than the typical Winn-Dixie was their expanded selection of prepared foods, like the BBQ bar seen in the photo. In addition to the hot foods and the BBQ bar, these stores also had larger produce and service departments, a large selection of bulk foods, and an expanded wine and beer offering with premium items like $259 Cristal champagne. It was very clear these stores were supposed to be fancy, and the Transformational era (I feel) offered the fanciest and most thorough remodels I've ever seen come out of Winn-Dixie since the 1990's. While Transformational stores can be found scattered throughout Winn-Dixie's footprint (for now, that is - Aldi has taken a liking to these stores as far as conversions go), a good majority of these stores are located in South Florida, as per the article, South Florida was one of Winn-Dixie's strongest markets.
With its opening in June 2010, the Margate Winn-Dixie marked the first new store for the chain in Florida since 2005. Officially, this store was part of a replacement project, replacing an older Winn-Dixie about a mile south on 441, and returning Winn-Dixie to this retail cluster following the 2005 closure of a Food Pavilion that stood where the Super Target is now. Being a fancy prototype store, Winn-Dixie put a lot of work into this old Publix building, so for the most part it's a standard Transformational store all around. The facade, however, is partially left over from Publix though, as the arched design is a holdover, with Winn-Dixie adding some new stucco elements to the facade as part of their remodel.
On the left side of the building is the liquor store, which opened alongside the main store in 2010.
The liquor store occupies Publix's old pharmacy and bakery departments, with one of the original arches filled-in to make room for mounting the "LIQUOR" sign.
If you look closely at this wall next to the liquor store entrance, you can see where Publix's original left side entry doors were walled in. In person the patch job was pretty obvious, as there's a lump in the wall designating where the old doors used to be.
Winn-Dixie consolidated the store's entry and exit doors to a front-facing pair toward the right side of the building, off in the distance along this walkway.
Publix's right side vestibule became home to Winn-Dixie's new entrance, primarily with the doors flipped to face the front instead of the side like they were in the Publix days. The exit doors are located in roughly the middle of the facade. While I didn't get a picture of it myself, this store must have been one of the last to receive the old 1990's-era "Entrance" and "Exit" signs above the doors, which I typically associate with stores from the Marketplace era.
Stepping inside, we're first taken into the store's grand aisle. Looking straight ahead upon entering you see the prepared foods island, although I ended up angling this picture a little more to the right to showcase the store's produce department (decorated for the upcoming 4th of July holiday when I was here too).
Looking in the opposite direction from that last photo, here's a look at the "freshly prepared" counter that greets you upon entering the store. At that counter (originally) were the carving stations (with features of assorted roasts and even prime rib too!) and the custom sub counter, with the BBQ, salad, and olive bars located in island bars next to the main counter. Since these stores debuted, Winn-Dixie has simplified the "freshly prepared" offerings to feature the prepared foods selection of almost every other Winn-Dixie out there (for the most part), with the prime rib carving station giving way to the typical Wing Bar and some assorted other sides. Winn-Dixies in South Florida and other heavily Hispanic areas with expanded prepared foods bars also offer items like tamales too, which are still available these days. I haven't seen the self-serve BBQ or salad bars in these stores offered in ages, with most having removed those counters completely or not using them at all if they still exist (and even stores that added salad bars during their Winn Win remodels have discontinued those too, from what I've seen).
Another new feature in these Transformational stores was the "Community Connection", which was Winn-Dixie's fancy term for an in-store seating area. By the time of my visit in 2021, the second "o" in "connection" on the pink painted wall seemed to be suffering from a lack of connection though!
When I visited this store, the olive bar was still alive, although the hot food selection had already been pared back to the usual Wing bar and sides. I've also heard that Winn-Dixie's deli has pared down its fresh salad offerings (potato salad, cole slaw, etc.) to mostly pre-pack in recent months. In the photo above you can see the fresh salads on display at the deli, and after seeing those cases put to other uses in my most recent visit to a Transformational store, it appears the pre-pack shift is true.
In front of the island service counters is produce, which transitions into wine and beer as we move further back along the salesfloor. Between those two departments we find random pallet displays of beer and soda to fill space, with an aisle of snack foods filling up some of the space where the original bulk foods/dedicated organic department was pared down over the years.
15 years later, while these Transformational stores are still nice in terms of architecture and design, most of the fancy features Winn-Dixie tried to make these stores different from the rest have been watered down or removed completely. Winn-Dixie has never been very good at running higher-end stores or concepts, even after many attempts at trying to create one (Transformational, Food Pavilion, etc.). As we saw in the most recent bout of new stores from the 2021-2023 timeframe, those stores were fairly plain and average compared to these Transformational ones, and weren't trying hard to come across as upscale - just modern more than anything.
From produce, here's a look toward the back right corner of the store, where the beer and wine department resides. Some tables of baked goods also crashed the photo as well, because the bakery is located at the back part of the island right behind me:
The "Freshly Baked" department is located next to the deli, and like the grand opening articles mentioned, this store's bakery got quite a bit more space than what you'd find in a typical Winn-Dixie from a prior era (and even a newer one).
From beer and wine, here's a look at the passage that exists at the back of the fresh island, within which is the meat and seafood service counter as well. Some Transformational Winn-Dixies would have had a gourmet cheese counter at the back of the island next to the bakery, but it appears this store never had one (as the bread racks would have been pushed back more if there was one here).
Other than that side profile from the last photo, it appears I didn't get a straight shot of the "Freshly Caught" department, skipping right ahead to the "Freshly Raised" (aka meat) department following the service counter along the back wall. The "Freshly Raised" department is located approximately where the old Publix deli would have been.
Turning the corner into aisle 1, another feature of these Transformational stores was the large advertisement on the back wall of the island for the Winn-Dixie Rewards card. While the most common variant of this advertisement was the "Most Valuable Card in you Wallet" one you can partially see here, this store had one that said "Shop Smart, Think Savings" with graphics of Winn-Dixie's other early 2010's promo signs joining the picture of the rewards card. While Winn-Dixie sent out new rewards card stickers to cover the previous designs with following the change to the Plenti program and later SEG Rewards, those old shelf tag graphics still live on here in Margate!
As we've seen so far, there really isn't much left from Publix inside this building - this place is a Transformational Winn-Dixie through and through for the most part. We can see all the traditional Transformational traits like the layout, fresh department island, warehouse ceiling, and tile floor around the perimeter. But, going into the grocery aisles, Winn-Dixie did have a soft spot for one of Publix's characteristic features:
The terrazzo floors live on in the center store! While I'm sure the terrazzo was pretty well butchered around the perimeter as Winn-Dixie rebuilt the walls and added the service island, the center store didn't see much happen to it other than new shelves and the drop ceiling removed, so the terrazzo remained mostly unscathed in this part of the building.
Terrazzo is pretty classy, and preserving the terrazzo in the center store saved Winn-Dixie a little money on flooring, so this was a Winn Win overall (and an extra win for the 3 people who would care about finding Publix remnants in a Winn-Dixie too!). You also never see terrazzo in a Winn-Dixie either, which makes this an interesting sight for that reason as well.
Returning to the back aisle, the terrazzo disappears in favor of new tile once again. Looking ahead, we find the luncheon meats (and not the "freshly luncheon meats", breaking the theme on most of the other signs seen in the store), with "Freshly Farmed" (aka Dairy) department off in the distance along the left wall.
Turning the other way, here's a look back at the prepackaged meat alcove and the "Freshly Caught" counter.
Aluminum pans, fruit cups, and terrazzo floors, what more could you want in a supermarket?
Some specially designed category markers live on here in the pet food aisle. Frozen foods was the only other part of the store with category markers these days, and all of those were replaced with modern Down Down/Winn Win style ones like has been done at most other Winn-Dixies in the early 2020's.
The health and beauty aisles follow pet supplies, placed as such to align with the store's pharmacy counter. Here in health and beauty, you can find ways to sweep away any ailments you may have!
The pharmacy was located between the check lanes and frozen foods, right next to the store's exit doors. Publix's original pharmacy would have been located in the same area as Winn-Dixie's, and considering Publix #364 closed with Classy Market 1.0, I doubt it lasted long enough for Publix to have moved the pharmacy to the multi-purpose nook on the other side of the store, which was a more common tactic in later Classy Market 2.5 and 3.0 remodels. Winn-Dixie's pharmacy in Margate lasted until all Winn-Dixie pharmacies were closed in late 2023 as part of the sale to Aldi.
Cutting through our old friend Aisle 12, we find more non-food items, such as paper products and automotive supplies.
Another unusual Transformational store feature I spotted here - aisle 11 had a specially made blue sign to designate it as a health and beauty aisle (the front part of aisle 10 was home to health and beauty as well, but since the back was baby supplies, it ended up with a standard sign). The blue aisle sign must have been another rare trait from this early Transformational store, as later stores used all regular red and gray signs throughout.
Aisle 12 is the last numbered aisle in the store, with the last two unnumbered aisles being home to frozen food and dairy. Unnumbered aisle 13 is entirely home to frozen foods as we can see here.
Looking at unnumbered aisle 14, we find frozen food coolers to our right, with the "Freshly Farmed" dairy department to my left. When Publix was here, produce would have been located straight ahead in the back left corner of the store.
Along with the pharmacy, the only other part of this store that roughly lines up with Publix's old layout is the placement of frozen foods, which used to run the left side of the store connecting produce in the back left with the bakery in the front left.
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| Why isn't it "Freshly Frozen"? |
With the liquor store in the old Publix bakery space, frozen foods wrap around the back of the liquor store to end with the ice cream, seen in those coolers in front of me. Most other Transformational stores have an alcove in the front left corner for ice cream and additional frozen food overflow, but with the placement of the liquor store where it was, that wasn't possible here.
From frozen foods, here's a look back out toward the pharmacy and the store's front end.
The front end consisted of 7 regular check lanes and 4 self-checkouts, about average for a Winn-Dixie in modern times.
It's certainly a different atmosphere compared to Publix's old faux skylight that shined over this area from 1988-2008, but still a nice front end overall (although the closed-up pharmacy in more recent times probably takes away from that now).
Thank you for shopping your Margate Winn-Dixie, and if you bought a quick lunch while you were here, it's easy to pop over to the Community Connection for a table and some free wi-fi while you eat:
I ended up taking this photo of the Community Connection from the cart corral next to the door instead of from a less-obstructed viewpoint (probably because there was someone sitting inside it), but it was just a few tables, a newspaper rack, and some framed prints of oranges on a tree in true Floridian style. While we may not be able to see the tables, we can at least appreciate the citrus art from here!
Back outside, the outline of where Publix's right side entry doors used to be located is still faintly visible on the wall, similar to the patch job on the left side of the building.
Anyway, considering how things are going with Winn-Dixie, it probably won't be long before we see another one of that chain's stores appearing on the blog. But until then, more Albertsons coming up next time on AFB, so be sure to come back in two weeks for that!
So until the next post,
The Albertsons Florida Blogger
It’s interesting how not all transformational era stores got the curved glass front (and even of those, I think only the ground up built ones got the nicest design, where the ceiling is actually open to the glass windows.)
ReplyDeleteThat said, this facade with the tan and brown stone columns is a design I really liked from WD in the late 2000s and early 2010s that I’ve seen in their other stores.
As I read the post, I thought it was odd this store had the post bankruptcy style floor tiles, rather than concrete, then I was confused about the gray flooring in the aisles, until you explained it. But it does all look much nicer than the cut up concrete most have, and I love me some Publix terrazzo!
This store does look very well kept too, looking at the pictures, I could see myself being in a modern Publix, especially in the aisle shots with the terrazzo and warehouse ceiling! The only difference I see is the noticeable seeming lack of traffic, which reminds me I’m in a WD.
I like those round light fixtures, especially the setup of smaller ones over the check outs. I have seen those in a few other Transformationals, but mostly just in the deli and bakery only.
Speaking of light fixtures, the ones on the columns sure look like ones I’ve seen on all the modern Publix stores, I wonder if those are leftover from Publix, or WD just happened to pick the same fixtures here? lol
I always had high hopes for these Transformational stores, but ultimately it didn’t come to be. I think one of the big reasons they didn’t catch on, besides the cost, is these tended to be in very high end areas only, and were just one store lost among multiple Publixes that were probably just as nice, just with fewer offerings. I don’t know if these stores initially had higher levels of traffic and later a slowdown made them do away with the more deluxe offerings, or not.
If WD had been able to bring this design into most of its store locations, even in smaller towns, I think it would have saved the company and completely turned it around. Of course, that was impossible in the budget though.
The one Transformational I went to had all of those features out of use as well, and it really made the store feel sad and empty, like it was a long lost part of WD’s past that was now dead in a way, and what was now on offer was just a mere shadow of what could’ve been.
You’re definitely right, one of my biggest disappointments with the Aldi conversions is seeing so many of these Transformational stores getting hacked up into Aldis. Especially since they’re nearly always in areas where Aldi already had stores to begin with, and yet is still doing multiple conversions there anyway.
Anyhow, with this one being presumed “safe” hopefully it gets to stay open for a few more years at least.
This being a "new" store from early in the Transformational era and not a remodel also makes it strange how it didn't receive a version of the curved glass front, but there could have been issues with the landlord or restrictions in this shopping center preventing such a dramatic change to the building's facade, as the old Publix facade matches the design of the rest of the center.
DeleteThe floor tiles were most likely a carryover from those first few Transformational stores opening with Post-Bankruptcy, but without those, the gashed up terrazzo around the perimeter probably would have looked worse than the scarred concrete! Since Transformational really didn't have a dedicated tile pattern, Winn-Dixie probably had no choice but to use the older tile style too. At least the center store terrazzo looked nice after the conversion. Terrazzo is an odd sight in a Winn-Dixie, but it's classy to match the design of the store!
I did visit this store on a weekday afternoon, so I can't comment on if it picks up or not during busier times on the weekend. There's no shortage of competition around this store though (with Publix, Aldi, Broward Meat and Produce, Walmart, and Super Target all within a mile), so Winn-Dixie has to keep this location looking nice to prevent shoppers from going to any of those other options.
I think the lights on the columns were just a coincidence and not a Publix relic - I think the floor was the only Publix relic Winn-Dixie cared to keep!
Even pre-Aldi, Winn-Dixie was scaling back the fancier prepared food offerings in these stores and watering down the higher-end options once offered. Winn-Dixie has never really exceled at operating a higher-end prototype on a widescale basis, and a lot of that is probably because people typically don't associate "Winn-Dixie" and "high-end" together, as much as they've tried with stores like the Transformational ones. I'm sure a lot of the fancier stuff (like the carved prime rib) was a tough sell, hence why that was cut to install a wing bar like every other Winn-Dixie has.
I also agree with you that the Transformational remodels could have changed the direction of the company, but were way too expensive for what Winn-Dixie could have taken on at the time. Winn-Dixie should have taken a two-tier approach with these remodels, reserving the deluxe remodels where the stores were practically rebuilt to the really high-end area, while smaller towns received "Transformational" remodels that resembled more of what we saw from the Winn Win era - a thorough but not super elaborate cleaning of the older store with new decor, floors, equipment, etc., as that would have countered some of the budgetary restraints of a wide rollout of the elaborate remodels.
I’ve been surprised how WD can get somewhat busy at times, even though it can be very slow at others. I went to my store (687) around 2 today (Saturday) to get something for lunch, and it was actually quite busy while I was there.
DeleteI’ve also noticed the Lake Placid store does tend to have a pretty good crowd of cars when I go past it. I guess location can play info that too, as well as random chance!
It is quite interesting to go to Wd when it is busy, to me at least.
The Winn-Dixies by me can pick up a decent crowd on the weekends, particularly our Lucky-Dixie. I've seen multiple occasions in that store where 3 of the 5 staffed lanes will have lines with lines at self checkout too. It's still nothing compared to the weekend crowds at Publix, but nice to see some local support for Winn-Dixie.
DeleteI can only wish to again see something like this and the post-2018 bankruptcy turnaround when W-D opened new stores... except instead of replacing an existing store down the street, supplement an Aldi conversion. Besides, somewhat of a rhetorical question, who else meaningful is going to fill in the space of the next big box store falling victim to the retail apocalypse?
ReplyDeleteThat would be nice to see, although I’m not sure it will happen or not.
DeleteWhat I’d like to see more is WD regain traffic like they used to in the better days. I’m so tired of seeing “dead” WD stores. So often I see just a few cars in the parking lot of any given WD, yet across the street at Publix it seems like hundreds. And you go inside, and only a few customers scattered around at WD, where at Publix it’s a steady stream of people down the anctionways, deli and near dept and in the aisles and check lines are pumping. It’s embarrassing and sad, and seems to have been this way for at least 20 years.
It seems like the WD name still to this day brings images of outdated, smelly and dirty stores, poor product freshness and despite WD’s various renovation campaigns, including Transformational, this still hasn’t changed to this day. It’s sad Transformational didn’t work out like it should have.
Seems like about every 5 years WD has a new campaign with a remodel scheme following.
In 2005 it was Getting Better All The Time along with the 2007 seeing A Fresh Experience remodels start, I guess 2010 was Transformational, 2015 Down Down and 2020 Winn Win. While “It’s a Winn Win” is still technically WD’s current motto, most of that campaign and remodel scheme is over, and with the Winn Twins gone, 2025 should’ve been due for a new campaign. I guess “Checks Every Box” may be it, but it’s not really the same extent.
Perhaps with Aldi conversions still ongoing, WD is laying low for now. We also didn’t seem to see any mention of WD’s or Harveys’ 100th anniversaries, and I suppose we won’t.
And speaking of vacancies, it remains to be seen who will fill all those halves of Aldi’s conversions. I don’t suppose we’ll see any supermarket exits like Lucky’s and Earth Fare for WD to take over like the early 2020s.
Hopefully there’s still room for another full service traditional grocer alongside Publix. While others had other places to retreat outside Florida: Albertsons, Food Lion, Hannaford, WD has nowhere else to go!
I would love to see Winn-Dixie start a campaign to reopen newer, nicer stores in towns that lost their Winn-Dixie to Aldi - that would be a great "back at you" move! I guess we'll have to see what happens here over the next new months as to what SEG's management team is plotting.
DeleteWhile the Winn-Dixie stores by me seem busier over the last few years after receiving remodels, they still don't match the business any of the nearby Publix stores get. Before Aldi came into the picture, I think there was a little bit of traction being gained, but there was still a lot of work that had to be done, which Aldi cut short. I really thought the "It's a Winn Win" era was going to be the remodel campaign the company finally carried out all the way to completion (unlike its predecessors), until Aldi screwed everything up. It's hard to break away from a reputation of old and smelly stores, especially when management keeps changing its outlook for what the chain should be like so frequently.
I am curious to see if "Checks Every Box" amounts into something more as Winn-Dixies tries to blaze a new path post-Aldi. Some stores are receiving work/major resets that are on the go-forward list, which could be an inking of more to come.
There have been some passive references to Winn-Dixie's 100th anniversary on social media, but nothing directly mentioning it. I was hoping for more on that myself, especially with all the references Publix is making this year to their 95th anniversary.
With how the big grocery chains like Kroger and Albertsons seem to want to do anything but organic expansion into new markets, another traditional chain coming to Florida would be a longshot case it seems, as much as I'd like to see that happen. That's why I hope Winn-Dixie can finally find its footing again, as they're the only other traditional grocer we have.
Ironically, I saw a Coca-Cola banner hanging in the former Cordele Harveys a few weeks ago commemorating the chain's centennial. It's a shame that the only mention I've come across was in a store that was closing!
DeleteI wonder if SEG now has the capital to open lots of new stores? Prior to the Aldi buyout, it seemed like a pretty arduous process to get the few they did open. While the 2020s era stores do look quite nice, they’re also just missing a little, in my opinion, but I’ve never made it to one.
DeleteI think it would’ve been nice if they could’ve done some wood flooring in some areas to break up all that concrete like these Transformational and Winn Win remodels did, along with maybe having a dining area. I think they just could’ve come up with more unique or upscale features than what they went with. Not necessarily prepared food though.
I wonder if WD didn’t expect those new stores to ever get very busy, since it looks like they only got 3-4 regular check lanes along with the self checkouts, whereas Transformationals and most other stores seemed to get 6 or more.
The new stores were nice, but compared to the Transformational stores especially, they were pretty plain. The new stores didn't bring anything dramatically new to Winn-Dixie in terms of services or selection, they were primarily everything you'd expect from your average Winn-Dixie, just in a shiny new building. Appearance seemed to be the big factor in those stores compared to innovation or upscale. I was quite impressed that Winn-Dixie was maintaining their speed of 2-3 new stores a year there in 2022-2023, and they managed to get all but one of the announced new stores opened before the Aldi sale too. With C&S's backing you'd think more money would be available for new stores, but we'll have to see what transpires in the coming months on management's go-forward plan, which I hope involves some new stores of some kind to fill those gaps Aldi made.
DeleteBeing brand new stores, I would have thought Winn-Dixie would have fought harder to retain pretty much anything opened post-2020 from Aldi's grip, but they let 5 from that era go. That is a good point, maybe some of those new stores weren't the busiest, but hopefully they weren't destined for failure from the beginning either.
https://www.flmd.uscourts.gov/bread-and-bankruptcy-winn-dixie-has-second-chance
ReplyDeletehttps://www.supermarketnews.com/grocery-operations/winn-dixie-plans-to-exit-326-locations-in-cutback
These are two articles about the 2005 bankruptcy. Peter Lynch, who previously worked for Star Market and Albertsons became the CEO and is mentioned in the article you posted about the store.
Peter Lynch's exit pretty much marked the end of the Transformational era, as the sale to BI-LO took away what finds Winn-Dixie had for the elaborate remodels, and his successor, Randall Onstead, was the man who spearheaded the change to the Green Interior.
DeleteThe Chek beverage plant in Georgia I believe was sold to Polar Beverages of Worcester, MA which now bottles Chek soda for WD
ReplyDeleteIt was! This article explains the sale more: https://www.walb.com/story/14536462/chek-cola-sold/
DeletePolar Beverage is a great soda company. I think they do a few store brands. Their main plant is huge.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice that Polar hasn't let the reputation of Chek slip under their ownership, as the brand still has quite the following all these years after the sale.
DeleteThe terrazzo is definitely a nice touch, and a neat reminder of this store's past! It certainly seems to outshine the rest of the tile flooring, though, which is a little unfortunate. But the rest of the store still looks good, even with the offerings decreased like you mention. Thanks for the group link, too!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Terrazzo is a strange sight in a Winn-Dixie, but it works here, and is a nice clue to this building's past!
DeleteThanks for the link! I'm still shocked by how little coverage was given to the rebuilt Americus store despite its historical significance. I was also surprised to learn that both the Winn-Dixie and the Harveys played a roll in debuting half-baked prototypes (a new logo in Harveys' case) all because of the terrible storm. That's also interesting to learn the history about Margate because I never knew it was the first Transformational store in Florida.
ReplyDeleteI'm especially surprised that this store got those old "entrance" and "exit" signs because I, too, thought those died out with the bankruptcy.
That's neat how this store still had the old shelf tags on the wall! I also don't believe the new rewards card graphic was a sticker because you can see thumb tacks holding it up in one of my photos of the Mountain Brook store.
I'm inclined to say that the white lights on the exterior columns are leftovers from Publix. They line up with Publix' old ramps (after all, WD kept the bollards in place), and they seem to match the shape.
You're welcome! You'd think corporate would have given that Americus store a little more publicity buzz considering the new design, which after emerging from bankruptcy not long before, they'd want to get out there in the press! For the longest time I thought Margate was the first Transformational store overall because of all the hype this store's opening got, but it was just the first in Florida in the end.
DeleteI haven't seen that rewards card graphic in person in ages (I think this store was the last time, actually), but at least corporate tried to keep that sign updated, even if this store's one-off graphic with the old tags didn't help that case much!
I don't know where my mind was before, but I thought the commentor was referring to lights inside the store - not outside. That said, yes, the exterior column lights are most likely from Publix, as Winn-Dixie didn't do much to alter the facade from the old Publix design.
I do remember when this was a Publix. As a matter of fact, it was not far from my house and it was one of the locations my parents and I shopped at (the other two being the Palm Lakes Plaza store and the similar in design Ramblewood store).
ReplyDeleteMy former neighbor neighbor (the one with the tenure at Albertsons that I mentioned on my comment in your last post) told me that it became a Winn Dixie. Up to that point, I never heard of a Publix being converted into a WD.
Nice! Being you used to go to the Albertsons across the road, I figured you may have had some experience with this store in the Publix days too.
DeleteEven though there isn't much from Publix left these days besides the facade and that bit of terrazzo, it's still strange to think this Winn-Dixie used to be a Publix with how uncommon that scenario is.
I remember this store as a Publix! It was one of the locations my parents and I shopped at, as it was not too far from my house.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow’s ad has a mention at the top of “100 Years and Counting,” so maybe they heard us. lol
ReplyDeleteI just pulled that up and saw it - maybe Winn-Dixie's people do read our posts, lol! Nice to see there will be some recognition of the centennial after all. I wonder if some in-store promo signage will accompany these mentions in the ad as well.
DeleteWe’ll see. Strangely Checks Every Box doesn’t show up anywhere in the ad this week, but “The Beef People” made a return!
DeleteI noticed the Winn-Dixie Food Pavilion location that was demolished for the Super Target mentioned in the article actually closed in 2000 - I was able to look up the retail alcohol licenses in FL (including historical ones that are no longer valid) and found the retail alcohol/tobacco license for Store #225 on 5800 Wiles Rd in Coral Springs expired 3/31/2001, indicating it was likely part of the 2000 closure round that Winn-Dixie had prior to their "Texodus" from Texas and the 2005 bankruptcy. Odd considering the store was built in 1998 or 1999 based off of historical satellite imagery and it only lasted through 2000. If that was the case that would be a shame to build a big, nice, fancy store only to turn around and close it soon after! Hope you find this info helpful!
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