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| The Sun Herald (Archive.ph) - January 22, 2017 |
Winn-Dixie #1357
Popp's Ferry Shopping Center
2384 Pass Road
Welcome back to My Florida Retail Blog! Two weeks ago, I shared my post on the former Gulfport Sing Store and the nearby D'Iberville Winn-Dixie Marketplace, the latter which closed back in August to make way for Aldi. It was while conducting research for that store when I came across some photos I had filed away several years ago. Today, we'll be back on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to stop by a store with an even stranger history than the supermarket in the Kmart Shopping Center.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Biloxi's other former Winn-Dixie just across the bay. Store #1357 closed back in the 2018 bankruptcy closure round, meaning I never got the chance to see it for myself. Despite this, I still figured the story behind this supermarket was worthy of being an exception to my rule.
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| The Sun Herald (Newspapers.com) - July 18, 1971 |
The tale of this supermarket begins in 1971 when the Mitchell Corp. of Mobile announced it was constructing a new 86,700 square foot shopping center at the corner of Popp's Ferry & Pass Roads in Biloxi. The original tenants included a 50,100 sq ft Rose's department store, a 5,000 sq ft Eckerd drug store, and an 18,200 sq ft Winn-Dixie super market.
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| The Sun Herald (Newspapers.com) - November 1, 1971 |
The Winn-Dixie held its grand opening on November 1, 1971, while offering lucky shoppers the chance to win an upright freezer "filled with frozen food & a whole W.D. Brand U.S. Choice beef loin," a Hamilton blender, (5) $10 gift certificates, (5) redi-basted turkeys, or (30) books of Top Value stamps. I would love to win an upright freezer full of food from a grand opening, but doesn't that seem like it would be a bit hard to throw into the station wagon?
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| The Sun Herald (Newspapers.com) - October 6, 1986 |
The store seemingly chugged along for the next 15 years until 1985, when Louisiana firm Cal Equity purchased the plaza. At that time, the rest of the Popps Ferry Shopping Center was beginning to struggle and was showing its age. Cal Equity set out to revitalize the dated complex with a refreshed façade to draw in new shoppers and businesses. By the following year, the Winn-Dixie & TG&Y-anchored center had attracted a women's apparel store and barbecue restaurant in addition to the existing shoe store, and video rental shop.
The group's purchases of Popps Ferry S/C and the neighboring Carnaby Street plaza served as steppingstones in the company's mission to buy up deteriorating centers at a discount and turn them around for a profit. These two locations seemed to be solid buys, considering how plans were already in place for a new Wal-Mart across the street adjacent to a circa 1983 Kroger Greenhouse store. That non-super Wal-Mart surprisingly survived until 2012 when the chain decided to build a Supercenter on a nearby vacant lot.
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| The Sun Herald (Newspapers.com) - October 22, 1989 |
Even with the revitalization of the shopping center, the Winn-Dixie couldn't stand the fierce competition from the newer Kroger store. The Beef People decided to hang up their apron for the first last time in October 1989.
Interestingly, the original Winn-Dixie box appears to have survived largely unaltered, now serving as the home for Goodwill.
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| The Sun Herald (Newspapers.com) - December 8, 1994 |
Speaking of Kroger, in 1994, the Cincinnati-based company decided to call it quits in Coastal Mississippi and sold its four area stores to Mobile-based Delchamps. The details of this transaction included a total of seven Kroger stores being acquired by Delchamps in exchange for $4 million and two Delchamps stores in Northern Mississippi ( here and here).
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| The Daily Advisor (Newspapers.com) - Former Kroger / Delchamps in Lafayette, LA - July 9, 1997 |
Likewise, Delchamps took control of the 43,000 sq ft Greenhouse Kroger across the street from the former Winn-Dixie and held a grand reopening on December 15, 1994. It seems that the plan all along was to squeeze out competition from the region because the Alabama grocer already had plans to construct a "giant" new store back at Popp's Ferry (called Old America Shopping Center at the time).
Retail Retell does an awesome job of explaining the outcome of the other locations involved in the transaction in this post.
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| The Sun Herald (Newspapers.com) - March 23, 1995 |
Three months after opening, the Pass Road Krog-champs closed its doors to make way for the new 61,000 sq ft supermarket in the Old America Shopping Center. This was the largest store at the time for the chain of 120 supermarkets, with business reportedly "exceeding expectations". This was another notable revitalization of the former Popp's Ferry Shopping Center which fell on hard times when the Winn-Dixie and TG&Y both closed, followed by the relocation of Campo electronics & appliances in 1992.
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| The Sun Herald (Newspapers.com) - July 9, 1997 |
By 1997, Stein Mart had taken over the former Kroger, and Delchamps had sold out to Jitney Jungle, bringing another new grocer to the 25 year old shopping center.
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| The Sun Herald (Newspapers.com) - February 22, 1998 |
Despite its large size, Jitney Jungle opted to brand the newly-acquired Biloxi store as "Jitney Supermarket & Pharmacy" rather than "Jitney Premier". I'm not entirely sure what the logic here was, but I'm also not well versed in the history of the Jackson-based grocer.
Fast forward to October 1999, and the first Mississippi company to recognize $1 billion in revenue found itself in the hot seat at bankruptcy court. Executives from Jitney Jungle cited, "large debt, increased competition, and less activity by its vendors," with the former mostly being attributed to the 1997 Delchamps acquisition.
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| The Sun Herald (Newspapers.com) - April 13, 2001 |
I had the pleasure of meeting a member of the Delchamps family several weeks ago; while this person didn't have much to say about the former family business, he did mention how he'd always heard that Winn-Dixie's acquisition of Jitney Jungle is what destined The Beef People to their 2005 bankruptcy battle. Based on what I've learned in my research, I can see that the ship began to sink with W/D's missteps as early as the 1980's; however, the debt from the Jitney purchase seems to have been the biggest boat anchor of them all.
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| Courtesy Ryan B. (Logopedia) |
Who knew that the dissolution of Delchamps could arguably be traced to the ultimate demise of Jitney Jungle, Winn-Dixie, Bruno's, BI-LO, Sweetbay, Reid's, and Harveys. Some of those may be a stretch, but the purchase of the fledgling Jitney Jungle by Winn-Dixie and Bruno's was not a wise choice for the two companies already teetering on the edge of a cliff. The rest is history.
In any regard, Winn-Dixie saw the 2001 purchase as its chance to reintroduce itself to Mississippi, adding many long-lost locations back into its portfolio. The company continued to expand by opening two new locations built from the ground up in the Jackson metro as it also converted several of the flagship Jitney Premier stores to the W/D banner. The Popp's Ferry store in Biloxi appeared to be one of those new flagship locations considering how the company took over the large, relatively new store in the once-familiar shopping center.
It seems that the third bankruptcy was the charm for store #1357 because in 2018, Winn-Dixie announced it would close the Biloxi supermarket as part of its Chapter 11 restructuring plan, along with the majority of its remaining Jitney acquisitions. The building has remained vacant ever since.
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| The Sun Herald (Newspapers.com) - March 17, 2018 |
Shockingly, I first learned about this store in December 2022 when I saw a Grafe Auction listing for the former W/D. The building sat largely untouched for four years following its 2018 closure, likely because there was little interest from third parties in subletting the property. I have since seen reports that local grocer Rouses Market now intends to move in which may have been what set the auction into motion.
Thanks to that aforementioned auction, we get to take one last look inside this storied space. Likewise, all remaining unmarked photos are courtesy of the 2022 fixture sale.
So, what exactly did a flagship Delchamps store look like? I'm not entirely sure, but I do know that this store's heritage could explain many of its anomalies with regard to The Beef People.
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| Courtesy Brien Powell (Google Maps) - September 2017 |
For starters, the building's exterior looks like a mashup between a Kmart and a BI-LO.
My cursory search for new Delchamps stores opening after this one leads me to believe it was, in fact, a one-off prototype. At least it makes me feel better to know that this was a unique Delchamps design rather than a break in the norm for Jitney Premier or Winn-Dixie Marketplace.
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| Courtesy Sandy Carey (Google Maps) - February 2018 |
Walking in, we would have found the typical BOGO bins (imported all the way from Australia!) leading up to the produce department in the front right.
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| Courtesy Sandy Carey (Google Maps) - February 2018 |
Notice how the crown molding on the walls matches the general shape of the exterior façade: this is our first clue that Winn-Dixie inherited most of this store's décor.
We can also see one of the unique floor tile patterns used throughout the space; the rust and gunmetal grey really does clash with Winn-Dixie's familiar teal checkout belts.
The produce displays also look much more elaborate than what we'd typically find in a 2001 W/D.
The thing that gets me is the fact that the produce department sign features a ghosted W/D logo in the center. It's entirely possible that The Beef People created their own "Fruit Store" sign; however, I'm inclined to say that they creatively inserted the graphic over an old Delchamps "D". If only I could have seen the sign for myself!
It would take a lot of effort to design custom 3D signage like this when Winn-Dixie was already rolling into its purple / maroon era.
Speaking of the Purple / Maroon package, that's exactly where this sign for the floral department hails from!
The floral counter also appears to match the layout of ones I've seen in other W/D stores – that could just be a coincidence.
Poking our heads down aisle 2, we find rows and rows of empty gondola shelves.
We also see the old "Wall of Values", complete with lots of letters missing their veneers. Notice the glue dots present on the majority of the "LOTS OF SAVINGS FOR YOU" letters? I bet there is the equivalent of alphabet soup lying on the floor below!
Interestingly, the Purple / Maroon Winn-Dixie aisle marker for #1 lists: Chek drinks, Coke products, Pepsi products, soft drinks, beverages, & distilled water. It has no mention of the wall of values, which further leads me to believe that the corresponding wall signage was a leftover. I don't believe that Winn-Dixie even bothered with a wall of values following the Marketplace interior.
Continuing on with aisle one, we find some mysterious brown fluid (the broth for our alphabet soup?) which has pooled up on the floor. What happens in a vacant supermarket stays in a vacant supermarket.
Are we in Munich?
Nein!
By far the most unique décor piece in this store was the giant "Rathskeller" sign over the beer coolers. The word is typically used for a bar or restaurant located in the basement of a German city hall and seems rather out of place in a Mississippi supermarket. I'm also inclined to say that this sign was original to Delchamps.
Je veux un bretzel!
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| Courtesy Charles B. (Foursquare) - January 2013 |
Our next special sign was the one for luncheon meats. In typical Winn-Dixie fashion, half of the neon was burned out while this store was still open.
The ribbon motifs certainly remind me of a sign from a Winn-Dixie Marketplace; however, knowing what I know about neon (and knowing that Winn-Dixie essentially quit installing it by the turn of the Millennium) tells me that this, too, is also likely original to the building. I guess that brings our score to Delchamps: 3, Winn-Dixie: 1.
We'll take a quick break from the departments to examine aisle nine, where we find some diamonds in the sky floor. These could be from Winn-Dixie, but they also seem like a lot of effort for the struggling supermarket to install since they lead to only minimal gain. Furthermore, the chain had dropped that diamond pattern motif by the time the 2000's had rolled around.
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| Courtesy t4ex t4ex (Google Maps) - April 2017 |
Okay, there was a diamond on the wall, too. The thing is all of the diamonds I've seen in Marketplace stores mount darker colors on the horizontal axis rather than the vertical axis like we have here. I know that is completely circumstantial, but I'm just defending my case here!
If I can't convince you with the diamonds, I hope I can convince you with something else in this photo. Take a look at the back wall of the seafood department: there's a sign which reads, "Fisherman's Cove". Winn-Dixie always marketed its seafood departments as the Fisherman's Warf. Meanwhile, Delchamps used the Fisherman's Cove in its marketing. Believe me now?
Below the Fisherman's Cove sign (which was surprisingly removed before the fixture auction), we find this large chalkboard with a sketch of some sea critters. I have to wonder if somebody bought this piece and kept the artwork in place – whoever drew it is more talented than me!
Aren't we just having a whale of a time? It's a shame that this neon light was already burned out by the time the 2017 department photo above was taken.
Continuing on, we find more shelves separating aisles 11 & 12 as well as the seafood counter from the meat department.
Here's the other side of that gondola, with the mysteriously unsigned seafood department off in the distance.
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| Courtesy Andy H. (Foursquare) - July 2016 |
Next up, we'll trade diamonds for checkers.
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| Courtesy t4ex t4ex (Google Maps) - April 2017 |
Now we see some Winn-Dixie signage! Without fail, The Beef People always managed to retrofit these Transformational-era luncheon/dinner meat signs into stores.
I'm also inclined to say that this "Fresh Meats" sign was one of the few custom pieces crafted by the Jacksonville grocer for this store (shocker). Just look at how much cheaper it appears to be than the rest of the signage, especially considering how it lacks both neon and 3D elements. I'd imagine this space previously featured Delchamps' Butcher Shoppe branding.
This "Restrooms" sign brings the department score to Delchamps: 4, Winn-Dixie: 3.
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| Courtesy Marteshia Pittman (Google Maps) - July 2017 |
Passing the restroom hallway, we find an alcove in the back left corner dedicated to the dairy department (and another struggling neon sign).
Hopefully the person who bought the neon yellow cheese was able to fix it up into proper working condition.
At least the 3D dairy sign on the adjacent wall was fully functional and lacked any Delchamps relics that W/D needed to swap out.
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| Courtesy Loren Levy (Google Maps) - December 2016 |
Turning around, we find a refrigerated case full of Paula Dean's favorite food group: butter.
It looks like W/D also opted to keep the original refrigeration fixtures because there are no coffin coolers in sight here!
Unfortunately, the auction company didn't provide many interesting shots of the deli / bakery.
At least we get to see the bakery or deli's tile pattern from this angle!
Next up is the pharmacy in the front left corner. Winn-Dixie obviously installed the hanging sign: while I've never seen those specific graphics, they match the Purple / Maroon package to a T.
Rustic may have been the look that the designers were intending, but this banner still looks awfully faded to be on display in 2022.
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| Courtesy Matthie Ulm (Google Maps) - January 2018 |
At least it didn't look as yellowed in 2018 (or this person's camera was better at white balancing the shot).
Our final grocery shelves are on the front half of aisles 11 & 12 (it appears that this store would have beleaguered me with its split aisle configuration).
Hmm, what is that I see off in the distance?
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| Courtesy Olivia (Google Maps) - July 2018 |
Well, a giant neon customer service sign, of course!
As if we were staring at the marquee of a theater, this massive neon sign used to inform shoppers of the various services offered from the front counter. With only five of the twelve spaces occupied, I wonder what services were nixed over the years.
I'm sure photo processing was one of them, and who knows, Delchamps could have dabbled in dry cleaning, banking, and movie rentals for all I know.
All that was left behind the counter were several dated HP computers. Who would want to buy those in 2022?
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| Courtesy Matthie Ulm (Google Maps) - January 2018 |
It's amazing how much nicer this place looked with the lights all turned on.
I'd have to say that the space looks a bit sparse for my taste (and I know Anonymous in Houston will leave a comment about the exposed truss ceiling), but the designers of this store likely created a noteworthy buzz around town when Delchamps opened in 1995. After all, who couldn't at least be impressed by the massive marquee!
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| Courtesy Mike K. (Foursquare) - September 2013 |
It seems like this day in September 2013 was also buzz worthy, but that may have only been due to Winn-Dixie needing more cashiers.
In any regard, the crowds certainly died down in the years to follow, just leaving behind empty shelves, a musty scent, and some dirty floors.
Let's check out a few more photos of the old IBM cash registers before we close out this transaction.
The registers themselves aren't particularly interesting (considering how they match most other old W/D's I've shopped at), but these pictures still do a good job of showcasing the left half of the store off in the distance.
"Low Prices Every Day."
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| Courtesy Vax Wagner (Google Maps) - June 2017 |
That will conclude this week's (delayed) post, but I hope you enjoyed my upgraded coverage on this jungle of a Delchamps: we covered Plenti of ground!
I'm still not sure what my next post will cover; however, you can rest assured that we will dive into something. If you are too impatient to wait, make sure to keep tabs on the Winn-Dixie to Aldi conversion list in the meantime or take a look at my post on the recently closed D'Iberville Winn-Dixie Marketplace down the road (she was a real beaut).
Also, feel free to provide alternate theories on this store's interior or provide more insight into Delchamps and Jitney Jungle (if you have it) in the comments below!
Until next time,
- The Sing Oil Blogger
Huh, a My Florida Retail blog post by Sing Oil from the home state of Retail Retell! I suppose we have a big chunk of the Gulf Coast covered here! As I’ve probably said before, although I’ve heard of the likes of Delchamps, Jitney Jungle, Bruno’s, Seessel’s, and others, I really don’t know that much about them so it is interesting to read about them. The only one of the many imploding Southeastern supermarkets of the ~1990s that I ever made it to was Schwegmann’s, and just barely. They were in liquidation by the time I visited one in the New Orleans area. I suppose I did go to Winn-Dixie in Florida in 1997 and maybe that counts as a visit to an imploding supermarket chain! The store I went to in Daytona Beach certainly resembled an imploding chain with the moldy produce they had out an all!
ReplyDeleteThe Mold People are in focus with this post! Or maybe it is The Dust People? I suppose this store was full of mold, dust, and other things during that auction sale. I can’t explain the oil-like sludge on the floor, but hey, it is the Gulf Coast!
I can’t really say how much of this store’s décor is original Delchamps, but I reckon your guesses are correct. In many ways, what Delchamps was using was more modern than what The Beef People were using in Marketplace stores in 1995. In fact, in some ways, this décor does have some Grocery Palace aspects to it. Oh, sure, it isn’t quite as over-the-top as Grocery Palace (that we know of, who knows what Winn-Dixie might have taken out when they opened this location), but there does appear to be some similar themes. The décor is a bit over-the-top and comedic like so many late 1990s décor packages.
You’re darn right I noticed the open ceiling and I will complain about it! In some ways, it almost seems like the over-the-top décor was installed to ensure that the public wouldn’t notice (and complain) about the unfinished ceilings that these stores had, but you know that won’t stop me! This store probably looked very nice, as a Delchamps at least, but the open ceiling is a flaw if one takes their eyes off the neon (the parts that weren’t burned out at least) and onto the ceiling. While there are similarities to the Jitney Premier which Retail Retell blogged about, the Jitney Premier looked, well, more premium. I think the drop ceiling, especially the dark drop ceiling elements, added to that.
Another problem with these warehouse stores is often the warehouse lighting. They just don’t cover the salesfloor with enough even lighting. Sometimes it looks okay. Sometimes it looks better in person than it does in photos. The auction photos obviously have lighting issues, but even when the Winn-Dixie was open, it looks like it was kind of dark in there. Then again, maybe it had to be dark to make the neon pop…and to hide the ugly ceiling! At least the floor looks okay, it is more Albertsons Tetris-like than Marketplace-like, thankfully! The Beef People’s checkstands don’t fit the theme, but oh well.
I’m having trouble making sense of that customer service neon sign! It most certainly looks modeled after a movie theater. I could see that being used for the video rental department, and maybe it was in a minor way, but it looks like customer service got the main feature!
That newspaper clipping from 2001 is interesting. Not only does it have a quote from a professor from my alma mater in the land of Giant Eagle discussing Winn-Dixie (couldn’t they get someone more local?), but they have a quote from a Winn-Dixie spokesman saying that Winn-Dixie is a “pretty basic operator.” Huh, well, that’s certainly what they’ve become and they’re becoming even more of that as Die Rindfleisch Volk. Speaking of Aldi, it is too bad this store didn’t live on long enough to see if Aldi would have reused that Rathskeller sign!
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DeleteYep, I love throwing all sorts of curveballs; you’ve got to remember that I’m the same guy who started The Albertsons Washington Blog, LOL! I love to travel, and this blog just gives me one more excuse! I wish I could have included more background information about Delchamps, but I was already pressed up against the wall by my self-imposed deadline. On the plus side, this won’t be the last time you see me cover a former Delchamps store! I’ve also got more Bruno’s material up my sleeve; however, I’ve got to defer most of your Jitney Jungle and Seesel’s questions to Retail Retell. Schwegmann’s is a new one for me! I’m not sure if I would count Winn-Dixie as a supermarket chain that imploded; I’d call it the drunk uncle who doesn’t know when to stop partying, and then ends up stumbling and mumbling around once the bar shuts down. Just when we thought he was about out of his hangover, his keys get taken and he really doesn’t know what to do!
DeleteJust based on the few supermarket auctions I’ve been to where they A/C has only been cut off for a week, I can’t imagine how bad this store smelled four years after it shuttered. Hey, Deepwater Horizon is still a touchy subject!!
After I published this post, I was just thinking about how much better this store’s décor aged than Rose & Teal Marketplace. When done right and well cared for, I think Marketplace looks better, but the presumed Delchamps interior still looks more timeless. I do see the grocery palace resemblances, and this store also reminds me of the 2003 Bruno’s I shared or a Flagship Script / Fresh Fare Kroger. It’s probably the fact that this store wasn’t as over-the-top as it could have been which makes it look more timeless.
I wonder if the over-the-top packages were a chicken or the egg scenario: the crazy décor was meant to distract from the open ceilings, but the open ceilings were required to provide enough space for the crazy décor. All I know is that my civil engineer friends get very excited when I show them some of the stores with exposed ceiling trusses. I do wish more stores would go back to using dark dropped ceilings, though. A brown ceiling like the one in Publix #356 (the store AFB just shared) looks very nice in person!
Considering how I’ve never been, I can’t say much about this store’s lighting. I can agree that we at least shouldn’t judge it from the auction photos! We also have to remember that phone cameras have come a long way since the mid-2010’s.
Customer service did get the main feature; I was blown away when I realized how large that thing was! An alternate theory is that Winn-Dixie or Jitney Jungle swapped out the lettering on the sign from something else (like movie rentals), but that still wouldn’t seem to make much sense.
It is odd how the AP decided to interview somebody from Pennsylvania about Winn-Dixie. You would think they could have gotten somebody on the phone from The Shelby Report, who I believe is based in Georgia. It is a shame that Aldi can’t reuse the Rathskeller sign!
Ha, I'm sure the engineers do like seeing the trusses in open ceilings, but then again, I'm sure a lot of them wouldn't mind if the service panels were taken off the refrigeration equipment so they could take a look inside and see the electrical components! As far as how I view things, I think my view on things are pretty similar to how I view desktop computers. I like to look at the components every now and then and will take the side panel off to do so, but I certainly wouldn't want to have that side panel off all the time. It just looks better in the long run to have the case finished with the panels on. As you can tell, I'm not a fan of modern gaming cases which have those windows in the side...and it isn't just because of my atrocious cable management skills, lol.
DeleteTo some extent, you're probably right some of these grocers had to use open ceilings to facilitate their over-the-top decor elements. That said, I'll have a guest blog post soon at HHR about my local Grocery Palace Krogertsons where Kroger did install a drop ceiling much like Safeway did at the not-so-far off Randalbertsons which I already blogged about at HHR. In both cases, even with the drop ceiling, the ceilings are so tall at those Grocery Palace stores and the walls so tall that they would still facilitate really large decor elements. Now, don't expect to see Kroger take advantage of this at my local Krogertsons in order to put in over-the-top decor since it'll have Artisan in the photos you'll see of it, but Kroger did have really large Bountiful baskets and such in this store pre-remodel.
The two things I'd argue against that point are A). truss ceilings have more of a pattern to them than the electrical components in refrigeration equipment, but that pattern can also make them blend in with a store if the other components (like HVAC, electrical conduit, etc.) are installed in an orderly fashion and painted to match and B). acoustical dropped ceilings have a negative connotation with many people today because they associate them with the dirty, water-stained ceiling in the dated Kmart they shopped in 30 years ago, or worse, the depressing cube farm they work in. To the latter point, I can understand why stores opted to try something different because design trends change and the other option of installing a sheetrock ceiling would be a mess for serviceability. Warehouse ceilings also give the impression that a store is bigger, and of course are cheaper to maintain. I'd also agree that modern gaming computers with the disco lights are a bit ridiculous. My current desktop is in an unassumingly black old server chassis!
DeleteWell, I still need to read your post on HHR (I just noticed it yesterday). It is so bizarre seeing a dropped ceiling in a grocery palace store!
The interior of this store always threw me off a bit, because it does come across as a deluxe version of Purple/Maroon with the color scheme and the overall aesthetic of the decor (like the diamond patterns and ribbons). The produce sign is what really made everything seem convincing, as that sign really looks like it was intended to have the WD logo placed there. I'm not super familiar with Delchamps, but did they have some kind of icon they used that could have been placed there? I only ever recall seeing the whole world "Delchamps" in their unique font written out all together, and their full logo would have looked odd in the middle of that sign.
ReplyDeleteUntil now, most of what I had seen of this store were those few Google photos, so it's nice to have all the auctions photos to look at everything in a bit more detail. Had this store opened in 2002 or 2003 it probably would have been more convincing this was a fancy Purple/Maroon prototype, but I guess there's a chance this could have been a prototype of what became Purple/Maroon too? (Much like how Down Down was dumbed down after the first 2 stores?) Being an inherited store opens a lot of possibilities, as we know some of the signs are from WD (like the produce and bakery ones), but to what extent could some of the others be from WD or not? Being a one-off Delchamps design doesn't help matters either as far as clarifying the origins of anything in here. With the Sweetbay conversions, WD only changed the check lane counters and installed a matching "The Beef People" sign in the meat department, so WD can replicate someone else's decor if they wanted to. Overall, I'd have to lean that much of the decor is leftover from Delchamps, but there are convincing arguments to go either way.
Also, you mentioned that Winn-Dixie didn't bother with a "Wall of Values" following the Marketplace decor. Actually, Winn-Dixie did keep that tradition alive with Purple/Maroon, except the name changed from "Wall of Values" to "Stock Up & Save Best Buys": https://www.flickr.com/photos/113856435@N07/23042327670/in/album-72157660461206958
I'm happy to have seen some more coverage of this store though, as it was certainly unique!
I agree, I was thrown off by it as well. The fact that Winn-Dixie added obvious Purple/Maroon elements doesn't help matters, either. Delchamps did, in fact, have a round logo that could have been used on the produce sign before Winn-Dixie took over. I'm still not entirely sure what Jitney would have done with this space, though. Regardless, YonWoo left a comment on my recent post stating that this is the same decor he remembers from the Panama City Beach Delchamps.
DeleteI'm surprised that you never looked through the 2022 auction photos! I'm glad that I managed to save those a while back and was able to still stitch a post together about this unique store. It also does seem like Winn-Dixie's replication skills date back further than the Sweetbay acquisition; if only Retail Retell or somebody else had made it to some of the old Jitneys!
Yes, I see that! I also just came across a really cheap Purple/Maroon store which featured a "Wall of Values", so I suppose the tradition wasn't entirely dead.
Anyhow, I'm glad you liked the post!
Really great research and write-up in this post! You covered this specific store's story in extensive detail while also weaving in the larger transactions at play between Kroger, Delchamps, Jitney, et al. I enjoyed reading it and getting to see all the interior pictures, and you also finally solved the mystery on the origin of this décor for us! Spot on assessment of the exterior being a cross between Kmart and BI-LO as well, lol. Oh, and thanks for all the links!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Hopefully all of the larger transactions didn't add too much confusion because sometimes the back-and-forth can bring about lots of chaos when put into words. I'm glad you enjoyed the post, and I was really excited when I seemingly solved the mystery on where all of this came from! You're welcome!
Delete