June 9, 2012 is a date that will stick in my mind for years to come. That day 10 years ago was the day I stepped foot in my local Albertsons store for the final time, in addition to marking the day the store closed for good. My trip to Albertsons on its last day wasn't planned, but getting to see that store in its final hours left an impression on me that I'll never forget. 12 of Albertsons' 16 remaining stores in Florida closed on that fateful day in 2012, although to me, June 9, 2012 marked the day Albertsons seemingly gave up on Florida for good. While Albertsons stuck around in Florida (in some form) until 2018, that closure round in 2012 seemed to wipe away most chances of Albertsons doing anything significant in the Sunshine State. While the odd Safeway experiment gave us a momentary glimmer of hope before the very end, looking back, I feel June 9, 2012 was the end of Albertsons as we knew it in Florida. While it's hard to believe that 10 years has passed since that final major blow to Albertsons' Floridian operation, the beginnings of this blog were starting to come alive in my mind. A year and a half after seeing my local Albertsons close, The Albertsons Florida Blog was live online, and here we are now. To commemorate this day in Floridian retail history, I've compiled some photos of the 12 Albertsons stores we lost on June 9, 2012, some of Albertsons' best locations that almost made it to the very end, with a quick summary of what has become of the buildings 10 years later. Links to each store's respective post (when available) can be accessed by clicking on the store number under each photo:
1590 Venice Bypass, Venice, FL
Fate: Still abandoned as of June 2022
200 South US Highway 17-92, Longwood, FL
Fate: Demolished for a new LA Fitness
7415 Manatee Avenue West, Bradenton, FL
Fate: Demolished for a new Lucky's Market, which was never built due to the company's collapse in 2020. The land is still sitting empty as of June 2022.
1750 US Highway 1, Vero Beach, FL
Fate: Converted into a Walmart Neighborhood Market
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Photo Courtesy of Google Street View
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2400 East Semoran Boulevard, Apopka, FL
Fate: Converted into a Hobby Lobby
3765 Lake Emma Road, Lake Mary, FL
Fate: Subdivided between The Fresh Market and Ross Dress for Less
1425 Tuskawilla Road Unit 111, Winter Springs, FL
Fate: Converted into a Hobby Lobby
Albertsons #44363313 Lithia Pinecrest Road, Valrico, FL
Fate: Subdivided between Sprouts Farmers Market and Petsmart
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| Photo courtesy of the Orange County Property Appraiser |
8801 Conroy Windermere Road, Orlando, FL
Fate: Converted into a Walmart Neighborhood Market
8415 North Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota, FL
Fate: Converted into a Floor and Decor
900 SW St. Lucie West Boulevard, Port St. Lucie, FL
Fate: Butchered Converted into a Walmart Neighborhood Market
1438 Rock Springs Road, Apopka, FL
Fate: Still abandoned as of June 2022
Wow -- crazy to believe it's been a decade already.
ReplyDeleteYeah, time really flies!
DeleteI'm sure it is surreal to think how a decade has already passed; I'm sure I will have similar experiences once a decade has passed since my last visit to my former Publix.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I find it interesting how you consider June 9, 2012, as the date when you lost hope in Albertsons' Florida operations; meanwhile, I thought they were dead back in 2008 whenever they sold the 49 stores to Publix!
It's crazy to think it's been that long since I was last in that Albertsons, as I remember the place so well it feels like I've been in there more recently than that!
DeleteAlbertsons really didn't have much hope in Florida following the 2006 breakup of the company (when the new owners of the Florida stores began to sell off the real estate they inherited to make money), but having a patchwork of 17 stores in Florida was a little more substantial to do something with than 4. Even then, I'm still surprised Albertsons kept such a small presence in Florida like they did until 2018, and didn't just kill off the whole thing in 2012.
Truly a sad day for Florida Albertsons fans. I especially find it depressing at how 4463 and 4466 which you accurately labeled as "butchered" by Walmart, as those were the two nicest of the 13 that closed during that fateful day. 4376 also had quite a following, as they had their own facebook page for former employees. However, I think that page has now been taken down. It's awfully odd that so many of Albertsons former employees went to Publix, yet you do not see any kind of desire for people to share any past memories from their time at Albertsons online on social media. It's just strange. Did Albertsons really tick off that many people, or is Publix asking those employees not to bring up or mention anything about one of their toughest competitors in Florida?
ReplyDeleteYou would think that after 42 years, there would be a desire to have a lively facebook page just for past Florida Albertsons employees. Their actually used to be a 'Florida Past Albertsons Employees' page but it too is gone.