Winn-Dixie #2367 - Micco (Barefoot Bay), FL

Winn-Dixie #2367

7960 US Highway 1, Micco, FL – Inlet Marketplace at Barefoot Bay

     This Winn-Dixie opened in 1998 to serve the Barefoot Bay retirement community, which is located behind this store in the southernmost fringes of Brevard County. In the early 1990’s, this site was originally planned to be home to a Food Lion store (Store #806). However, Food Lion backed out of those plans like they did in quite a few cases around Florida, leaving Winn-Dixie to be the grocer to ultimately open a store at this site.

     Driving down US 1 in the rural parts of Southern Brevard County, you’ll come across this Winn-Dixie. This Winn-Dixie appears somewhat unexpectedly in what looks like the middle of nowhere while driving along US 1, that is until you discover a retirement community of nearly 10,000 residents actually resides somewhat hidden behind this store. With the nearest Publix being a few miles down the road in Sebastian, this Winn-Dixie has a fairly large captive audience of retirees to patronize this store, making the Winn-Dixie in the middle of nowhere one of their stronger stores actually. This store has been kept rather nice over the years, having received the post-bankruptcy remodel and a bit more TLC than many other Winn-Dixies I’ve seen. With all that being said, let’s begin to take a closer look at what the Micco/Barefoot Bay Winn-Dixie is all about…

     Looking toward the tower on the front of the building, which contains the store’s exit doors. Until the post-bankruptcy remodel in the late 2000’s, both the entrance and exit were located under this tower. One feature of most post-bankruptcy remodels was moving the entrance to a new set of doors that opened into the produce department, which is the treatment this store ultimately received. You’ll also notice in this photo that the exterior of this Winn-Dixie has a different color scheme than in the rest of my exterior photos. That’s because this photo is about two years older than the rest of the photos in this post, showing the store’s original paint scheme (or at least original paint scheme to the post-bankruptcy remodel). Sometime in 2017, this store was repainted to the red and white color scheme you’ll see in the rest of the photos. When I first saw the new exterior paint scheme, I had thought this store had gotten the new red remodel, but that was not the case.

     The “FOOD” and “PHARMACY” signs on the left side of the building are original to when this store was built as a stereotypical late-era Marketplace store. The Winn-Dixie logo itself appears to be the only exterior signage that was replaced during the post-bankruptcy remodel.

     Turning our attention to the right side of the building, we can see the store’s main entrance as well as the attached liquor store, which is tucked into the front right corner of the building.

     All the trees in the parking lot made photographing the exterior of this store quite difficult, as the drooping branches blocked a lot of the exterior depending on where I stood. That’s why I have so many weird angles of this store’s exterior, as I was trying to avoid getting a bunch of tree obstructed photos! Anyway, my disdain about the foliage aside, let’s head inside this place and see what it looks like…

     Hanging above the carts we have this little sign welcoming us to the Barefoot Bay Winn-Dixie, a nice little touch with a bit of local flair. I’m not 100% sure of this, but I think this cart storage area was originally a photo center, as this would have been the approximate area of where a photo center would have been back when this store was built.

     Stepping a bit further into the store, here’s a pulled back view of the entirety of the entry vestibule/former photo center.

     As I said above, produce is the first department you enter after walking through the front doors. Because this store was built with a liquor store, the produce department is shifted a bit further to the left to accommodate space for the liquor store, part of which is peeking out from behind the produce coolers.

     As part of this store’s post bankruptcy remodel, the flooring in the produce department was ripped up and replaced with the wood-grain style tiles. The produce display cases also match the flooring, making this store’s produce department look very nice and modern. As vintagefans commented, "I always liked the way that the produce departments looked in the post-bankruptcy remodels. The wood flooring, green paint and wood displays really went well together and made it look more upscale in this department especially. Plus with the entrance usually going into this department it made a nice first impression."

     Produce coolers line the side of the liquor store box, coolers which look to have been updated in the post-bankruptcy remodel. Due to the placement of the liquor store, this store has a little alcove in the back where a few grocery aisles, the beer & wine department, and the deli are located, which we’ll see more of later in this post. As vintagefans noted in the background, "I just noticed those tri-sided aisle signs in this decor. I don't think I've ever seen those before. Usually this decor had flat signs and had each side of the aisle listed as "a" and "b". These tri sided ones must have been used in stores that got this decor later on." I wouldn't say the tri-sided aisle signs are rare, but they were from the later remodels Winn-Dixie did with this decor if I recall correctly. The first batch of remodels Winn-Dixie did with this decor did have check lane lights that look identical to the Purple/Maroon era ones, but with an orange stripe instead of a purple one. So while subtle, the post-bankruptcy decor did have a few different phases before being retired.

     Here is a reverse view of the produce department, capturing part of the entry vestibule in the background (as well as a runaway zucchini too).

     Here is a view of the front registers, as seen from the produce department. As usual with these Winn-Dixie Marketplace stores, the registers are located under a lower ceiling, one of the classic traits of these stores. As duckman66 noticed, "They forgot to update the teal checkstands. In some WDs by me, the checkstands from mid 1990s were either refaced to a brown/beige pattern, or replaced entirely." Vintagefans expanded on this by saying, "Yeah, and I've seen some of these remodels where they left the teal and pink cases in place as well. Usually with the post bankruptcy remodels they replaced a lot of the coolers and the ones that didn't got new beige fronts put on them to match. We've seen the Marketplace stores as well where those busy lines were left on the lines as well as the diamond shapes from that decor and just painted over with the colors used in this decor instead of removed."

     The floral department is located in an island between the produce department and the grocery aisles. Just from observation, it’s always seemed to me like Winn-Dixie has always had a much larger floral selection than Publix.

     Looking between the floral counter and the small selection of bulk foods, we can see the seafood department in the distance at the end of aisle 5.

     Behind the produce department, a small alcove appears behind the liquor store box. In this little alcove is the main store’s beer and wine department.

     Strangely enough, aisle one in this store is actually comprised of three aisles. The items listed on the aisle 1 sign describe everything in the next three aisles, which is the entirety of the beer and wine department. As nwretail commented, "The whole liquor department being signed as one aisle is a very Safeway thing to do -- it's interesting seeing a different chain doing that though!"

     The wine department has its very own hanging department sign, as well as custom designed category markers and track lighting. Winn-Dixie was certainly trying for a more upscale feeling in this department.

     The beer coolers take up the perimeter wall of the beer and wine department. This photo also serves as one of our first examples of how Winn-Dixie didn’t do anything with the floors in this store outside of the produce department during the remodel. Over here in the beer and wine section, the teal and pastel Marketplace tiles are still going strong.

     Moving a bit further into the store, here we see the main portion of aisle 1. On the left side of this aisle you’ll find the less potent grape juice, and on the right side is some of the more potent grape juice. There are a lot of factors that determine from which side of the aisle one picks their preferred grape juice, although I believe the stuff on my right may be just a bit more popular than the Welch’s Grape Juice that can be found to my left!

     In the back right corner of this store is the deli counter, located behind the beer and wine department. This store’s deli counter was updated a bit in recent years to include a sandwich station and some additional coolers for prepared foods. I have yet to try a Winn-Dixie sub myself to see how it compares to the all-mighty Pub Sub, but it is on my list of foods to try someday. As vintagefans commented about the deli department, "Wow, this Winn Dixie does seem to have a fairly big deli selection. Most Winn Dixies I've seen that aren't Transformational or the green remodels, seem to just have a small hot food case, and a small cold cheese/deli meat case and that's about it, other than the hot chicken and cheese/deli items out in the center. This store's deli counter seems to stretch pretty far, and we haven't even seen the bakery yet."

     Here’s another shot of the deli counter, taken from an angle and slightly less obstructed by the specialty cheese case. I will say, the prepared foods selection at this store was quite popular, as I saw quite a few people grabbing items from the grab and go case and ordering sandwiches while I was in this part of the store.

     The next department over from the deli is seafood, with the meat coolers beyond that. The full service seafood counter is blocked by that pallet of Coke bottles, but I have a better picture of the Seafood counter coming up.

     Finding ourselves in aisle 2 now, we’re out of the back alcove looking toward produce once again.

     Aisle 4 is home to chips and other snack foods. This aisle is one of the shorter ones located behind the produce department, as it isn’t until aisle 7 when the grocery aisles begin to run the entire depth of the sales floor.

     Located beneath the seafood sign is the meat and seafood department’s full service counter. Thankfully Winn-Dixie was kind enough to hang their lightbars low, so as not to obstruct our view of the seafood signage itself!

     Moving away from the meat and seafood counter, here’s another shot looking across the back of this store. The meat coolers take up all the remaining space along this store’s back wall from this point on. As duckman66 commented here, "Seems like there's been deferred maintenance in this store. Nearly every one of your shots of 2367 has burned-out lights. The walls are usually illuminated with 'hidden' fluorescents. Not so here, or they're off. Maybe WD is trying to save on the light bill... :)" Vintagefans again expanded upon duckman66's sentiments: "Those hidden lights lights along the walls came with the Marketplace stores, they weren't part of any remodels. I did see a few of them on in your pictures of this store, but looks like all of the ones back here are out."

     Greeting cards take up the entirety of aisle 5.

     Candy and office supplies can be found in aisle 6 – the two items you need to get yourself through a long school day!

     While not officially numbered, aisles 8 and 9 are home to this store’s frozen foods aisles. This particular aisle was aisle 8, looking down the second half of this aisle toward the back of the store. As Cape Kennedy Retail and A&P Preservation agreed (respectively): "Love the tiles here!" and "Have to agree with [Cape Kennedy Retail]... the tiles add some retroness to the store!"

     The old Marketplace tile pattern makes a bold statement here in the frozen foods aisles! This photo was taken looking up aisle 9 toward the front of the store. At some point in the year prior to when I took these photos, the category markers in the frozen foods section were replaced with the ones you see here. These category markers are the ones that match the current “Down Down” or Red Décor package. The category markers that originally went with the post-bankruptcy interior looked like this. Vintagefans had this to add about the freezer cases themselves: "You can tell the left cases are newer, which probably means this store originally had those open coolers in the center of the freezer aisle. They usually replaced those with these remodels, probably to add more display space. Along with adding tall coolers along the meat department."

     As is typical with most Marketplace era Winn-Dixie stores, the pharmacy counter is located between the customer service desk and the bakery. Considering how this Winn-Dixie contains the only pharmacy that directly serves a retirement community of 10,000 residents, I’d imagine this Winn-Dixie pharmacy does some pretty good business.

     Here’s another view of the pharmacy counter, this time looking back toward the registers and the front end.

     Returning to the grocery aisles, here’s a look down aisle 10, which contains pastas and other dry goods. Some old Marketplace era diamonds are still floating around on the floor here too. I believe those diamonds signified part of the health and beauty department before some aisles got shuffled around in this area in the post-bankruptcy remodel.

     A close-up photo of the meat department signage is the main focus of this photo. As vintagefans commented, "My local post bankruptcy decor store has pink all above the meat department, as do most I see. It looks like later remodeled stores got red, which I like way better." Personally, I think the red looks much better for the meat department as well. It wasn't until recently that I really began to notice how Winn-Dixie changed this decor a few times before it was finally retired. While most of the differences were subtle, I think there are at least three variations of the post-bankruptcy decor out there.

     Turning to the right, here’s a quick look back toward the seafood counter and deli department as viewed from the back center part of the store. Vintagefans commented (in response to the discussion about the "hidden lights" referenced earlier in this post): "You can see a few of those lights along the walls are working here, but most are out, (along with a lot of ceiling lights too)."

     Now looking the other direction down the back aisle, we can see the prepackaged lunch meat section as well as the end of the dairy department, with the dairy department signified by that yellow painted wall in front of me. I think the little table with Winn-Dixie’s checkmark logo, placed in the very center of the aisle, made for a nice touch in this photo.

     More of the old health and beauty department diamond shaped tiles can be found here in aisle 11, which is home to part of this store’s current health and beauty selection.

     Baby items and paper products had their home in aisle 14.

     Lunch meats were located in the back left corner of the store, next to dairy. Since the lunch meats are just an extension of the regular meat department, lunch meats share the same red wall coloring as the meat department.

     Moving closer to the left side of the store, the bakery begins to peek out in the background of this photo at the end of aisle 15.

     This photo serves as a nice overview of the store’s main back aisle, as seen from lunch meats in the back left corner of the building.

     This store’s last grocery aisle, aisle 16, is a double wide aisle that serves as home to Winn-Dixie’s dairy department as well as the sliced breads. Small open top coolers line the center of this aisle, featuring promotional dairy products and juices. As vintagefans commented, "From the floor tile pattern, it looks like there were always coolers here, and they just replaced them. But were these coolers part of the typical 80s non Marketplace stores? Because my 80s store here had these after the remodel in 2008, but I don't remember them before." I don't think the non-Marketplace stores had these coolers. In the non-Marketplace stores, while dairy was usually along the left side wall as well, it was a single aisle rather than a double aisle like this store. Since those non-Marketplace stores were usually smaller than the Marketplace ones, I doubt they had the space for these additional coolers.

     Here’s another look at the dairy aisle, this time looking back in the direction of the bakery.

     This store’s bakery is located in the front left corner of the building like most other Marketplace era Winn-Dixie stores. This Winn-Dixie had a nice bakery selection, something that some of their stores may skimp on. This store even kept its single serve bagel and donut case, something I’ve noticed getting removed from some Winn-Dixie stores lately.

     Here’s a close-up of the bakery signage, as well as a peek behind the bakery counter. Winn-Dixie has a pretty good bakery at the stores where they choose to provide a decent bakery selection, so it’s nice to see this store have the full selection.

     I think I was trying to do something fancy here, trying to frame this sign about Winn-Dixie’s apple pie with the bakery sign in the background. As you can tell, Winn-Dixie likes to brag about all of their award winning pies, which is nice, especially considering that Winn-Dixie gets very few opportunities to ever brag about anything positive! While this sign brags about their 2017 pie championship title, I am pleased to inform everyone that Winn-Dixie was able to uphold their championship apple pie title for 2018, which you can read about here. As vintagefans commented about the pie: "I've tried that pie and it is very good. I also used to like some of the cookies they had, but I can't remember what flavor they were and they don't seem to sell them now... they were even better than Publix. I also saw billboards with this pie award, here so they must like to promote that. It is nice to see positive news from them." YonWooRetail2 agreed, "That does look like a great apple pie! Funny thing: I was on an apple pie kick for a while back around 2002. At that time I would always buy them from none other than Albertsons #4355. They had them on sale for 2/ $5 often and I always liked them. However this Winn-Dixie pie looks pretty appetizing!" Not related to the pie itself, but Fifteen Five-O-One commented about the font used for this sign: "The font for “Apple Pie with Caramel Drizzle” kind of looks like the one Food Lion uses in its Easy Fresh Affordable campaign"

     Leaving the bakery, we get another glimpse of the pharmacy counter as we make our way back toward the store’s front end.

     Back at the front of this store once again, here’s a closer look at registers 2-7, which are located under the lower ceiling that is a classic feature of these Marketplace era stores. Register 1 is also located under the lower ceiling, but I couldn’t get it to fit into this photo.

     The customer service counter is pictured here, hidden behind all of those tables of promotional items.

     Here’s another look across this store’s front end as we begin to wrap things up inside of the Micco/Barefoot Bay Winn-Dixie.

     Thank you for shopping your Barefoot Bay Winn-Dixie reads the sign above the registers. And it appears that the register lights here are all completely in-tact at this store still. One thing I’ve been noticing with these register lights lately is many of them are beginning to crack or have the numbers fall off, with one store I’ve been too even taping one of these lights back together! I guess issues like that are why some of these post-bankruptcy stores have been the recent target of the red remodel sweep, although I still feel that the really old Marketplace and Purple/Maroon stores should be getting remodels before any of these post-bankruptcy ones do.

     Stepping outside once again, here’s another look across this store’s exterior. The original entry tower (now the store’s main exit) takes the foreground in this photo, a classic (and distinctive) Winn-Dixie Marketplace trait. As YonWooRetail2 said, "I like this facade! Pretty uniquely done with the red/orange paint too."

     Here’s a close-up shot of the Winn-Dixie liquor store, which as we saw prior, is tucked into the front right corner of the building. Since Winn-Dixie gives the liquor stores their own store number, the Micco Winn-Dixie liquor store is actually Winn-Dixie #2368.

     The trees weren’t doing me any favors here, but this attempt at an overview of this store will serve as the conclusion to our tour of the Micco Winn-Dixie. While this place had a somewhat bare bones remodel back in the early 2010’s, it’s still a decent store with a nice selection of products, especially in the fresh departments. It’s always nice to see a well run Winn-Dixie, and this store in Micco is certainly one of them.

So until the next post,

AFB