Photo via Winn Dixie
The Winn-Dixie store at 805 E Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd will soon be an Aldi.
Multiple associates at the Winn-Dixie located at 805 E Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that the store should be completely converted to an Aldi by Jan. 1, 2025.
Associates at the Ybor Heights Winn-Dixie also told CL that the pharmacy at this location has already closed in preparation for the transition.
It's worth noting that the massive deal between Aldi and Southeastern Grocers did not include the pharmacies that are often found within many of the Winn-Dixie stores.
Shortly after the announcement of the sale, a spokesperson for Southeastern Grocers told the Florida Times-Union that the company planned to transfer customer prescriptions to CVS Pharmacies and Walgreens, and that the pharmacy side of the Winn-Dixie business model should "wind down by the end of the year."
Notably, the departure of Winn-Dixie from this area leaves the Ybor Heights neighborhood without a major brand pharmacy. About a year ago, the Walgreens across the street, at 3917 N Nebraska Ave. also shuttered in what the company referred to as a "cost savings effort."
When Aldi first announced the deal, the company stated that the acquisition was expected to close in the first half of 2024. In the meantime, Aldi said it would evaluate which locations would be converted, and which ones would remain Winn-Dixies.
Unfortunately, Aldi could not be reached for comment, and property records, as well as the company websites for both Aldi and Winn-Dixie, do not show any new locations or closures in the area.
However, CL did reach out to the rest of the Winn-Dixie locations in Hillsborough County, and most stores told us they would not have a definitive answer until after Jan. 1, 2024.
Here's what we found out:
- 2770 E Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL 33612 Unknown
- 9535 E Fowler Ave., Thonotosassa, FL 33592 Unknown
- 8438 N Armenia Ave., Tampa, FL 33604 Unknown
- 2100 W Swann Ave., Tampa, FL 33606 Staying a Winn-Dixie
- 8837 N 56th St., Temple Terrace, FL 33617 Staying a Winn-Dixie
- 13508 N Florida Ave., Tampa, FL 33612 Staying a Winn-Dixie, losing pharmacy
- 6425 County Line Rd., Tampa, FL 33647 Unknown
- 8775 Temple Terrace Hwy., Tampa, FL 33637 Unknown
- 15692 N Dale Mabry Hwy., Tampa, FL 33618 Unknown
- 13016 Race Track Rd., Tampa, FL 33626 Unknown
- 6929 US-301, Riverview, FL 33578 Unknown
- 10665 Big Bend Rd., Riverview, FL 33579 Probably going to stay a Winn-Dixie, due to proximity to other Aldis
- 18407 US Hwy. 41, Lutz, FL 33549 Probably going to stay a Winn-Dixie, due to proximity to other Aldis
- 17649 Gunn Hwy., Odessa, FL 33556 Unknown
Update: After publication, an Aldi spokesperson got back to us and did not deny that the Ybor Heights location was becoming an Aldi, but did provide us with the following statement:
ALDI and Winn-Dixie remain separate companies and will continue to operate independently until the transaction closes. ALDI is evaluating which Winn- stores will convert to the ALDI format. We’ll convert a significant amount to the ALDI format after the deal is approved, over the course of several years. However, a meaningful amount of Winne-Dixie stores will continue to operate under their respective banners. As is typical in retail footprint planning, many factors will go into what will be a multi-year conversion process, including local market dynamics like population density and availability of other grocery options, traffic patterns, and most importantly, customer need. With this acquisition, our focus will be to continue to serve Southeast shoppers, provide unchanged access to quality, affordable groceries, and bring our employee-focused culture and market-leading wages and benefits to more markets in the Southeast.
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