Winn-Dixie #70
Creekside Market
Saint Marys, GA 31558
Future Aldi #70 | Former Food Lion #606 | Former Harveys #2393
Hey y'all, welcome back to the My Florida Retail Blog!
Ever since German discount grocer Aldi announced it would acquire Winn-Dixie last year, I've high-tailed it to as many Southeastern Grocers supermarkets that I could bear to. How else would catch a glimpse of the quickly dwindling chain?
Some of those trips were purely happenstance, while others were planned out a bit further to result in photos just waiting in my backlog until the store was set to close.
Today's Winn-Dixie falls in neither category.
By now, you should have read my post covering the former Sing stations in Waycross, GA, followed by my coverage of Publix #456 in Savannah. I mentioned that I visited seven supermarkets over the course of two days, and today we'll get to see another one of those which was also tapped for the infamous Aldi conversion list several weeks prior.
Set to close for good on December 15th, 2024, I knew my time to visit Winn-Dixie #70 was limited if I wanted to make it happen.
This store started its life sometime around 1988 (based on satellite imagery and the store number) as Food Lion #606 when it was constructed for the quiet coastal town and adjacent naval base. I would guess this location opened with something like Food Lion's "Futuristic" interior, seen below, from the early-1990's.
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| Courtesy RetailRyan (Flickr) - Food Lion #886 - May 3, 2021 |
By the mid-1990's the Belgian grocer determined that the 28,000 sq ft space was a bit cramped, leading to a roughly 7,000 square foot addition being constructed on the left side of the building between 1994 and 1999.
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| Courtesy RetailRyan (Flickr) - Food Lion #1467 - May 3, 2021 |
That timeline leads me to believe the store was upgraded to Food Lion's "Lucian" décor (seen above) which would have brought with it the teal tile band still seen in Saint Marys to this day.
Continuing on to 2003, Food Lion parent Delhaize acquired the regional Harveys chain and subsequently decided to convert a number of supermarkets in South Georgia and North Florida to the Harveys banner, including the #606 in Saint Marys.
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| Courtesy Liz P. (Foursquare) - Former Harveys #2315 - December 23, 2013 |
Once becoming Harveys #2393, the grocery store presumably received a light interior remodel to Harveys' Grid package, resembling what we see inside of former Harveys #2315 just up the road.
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| Courtesy Charles Burgess, Jr (Flickr) - Harveys #2393 - June 2013 |
When Delhaize sold the Harveys, Reid's, and Sweetbay chains to BI-LO Holdings in 2013, there were a handful of markets where the future Southeastern Grocers decided a different supermarket brand would be better suited.
For starters, we know that all Sweetbay supermarkets were converted to Winn-Dixies and all Reid's were swapped to BI-LOs. The more nuanced changes, though, came in the form of market swaps between Winn-Dixie and Harveys.
We've already seen how Americus lost its like-new Winn-Dixie in favor of roundabout replacing a Harveys, and how all of Albany's remaining Winn-Dixies converted to the South Georgia brand as well. The cheap retrofits to Harveys made sense, given the brand's stronger image in that part of the state. After all, the chain was already built on the backs of others' second-hand stores.
On the flip side, Harveys exited Valdosta and greater Brunswick when all remaining stores received quick conversions to Winn-Dixie. These Winn-Dixies were a dichotomy of new CEO Randall Onstead, Jr.'s upscale "Green Interior", inside of 25 year-dated and distressed Food Lion supermarkets. Maybe there is a reason that only one of these stores will remain open into 2025? Heck at least two of those stores didn't even survive through 2015!
Considering how all of the Valdosta flip-flops had closed by 2018, I knew I had to see one of these strange stores before they were all gone. My recent trip to Savannah just so made that possible.
Winn-Dixie #70 also happened to be the last of these Food Lion flips to sport its "original" Green Interior into 2024, as numbers 67 & 68 both remodeled to the Winn Win package in the last couple of years. Let's see what kind of stories this supermarket can tell through photos taken by yours truly and friend of the blog Kyle H.
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| Courtesy Kyle H. |
Here we find where the Food Lion blue from yesteryear has given way to Winn-Dixie red. I wonder if the shopping center will adopt a new paint scheme once Aldi moves in.
The exterior design of this building isn't particularly flattering, in my opinion. While it doesn't look bad, I think Food Lion's plainer designs from the era still looked better. This store somehow looks busy yet boring at the same time. I'd go so far as to say it would probably look better without the accent trim pieces.
If you take a closer look, you'll notice how the vestibule isn't quite symmetrical, with the left side being wider than the right. That's a product of the late-1990's expansion when Food Lion also extended the building to the left.
Anyhow, the vestibule still looks all too familiar to anybody who has seen a 1990's Food Lion before. Take note of how Winn-Dixie's signage states that "service animals [are] welcome" compared to Publix' approach of "no pets allowed" which sparked all sorts of backlash last year.
Stepping through the sliding glass doors, I was greeted by the early signs of a pending closure: numerous dump bins chock full of clearance items, mostly filled with nick-nacks like ping pong balls, cutesy kitchen utensils, and pure junk. All of these things were marked half-off, but I have to wonder why this store stocked them in the first place.
My first impression otherwise made me feel like I was walking into a slightly nicer Harveys store. The worn out vinyl flooring and recycled register fixtures hailing back to the former Nashville, GA-based chain are very hard to miss.
While "The Winn-Dixie Punkin' Patch" helped to fill the seasonal space, it was also hard to miss the poor paint transition roughly halfway up the wall. My best guess is that The Beef People painted the top part of the wall off-white during the 2013 conversion but left the bottom part alone because it was behind some shelves. These were likely removed during the 2023 "Bainbridge Remodel" and construction crews never got the chance to do anything else with the space.
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| Courtesy Kyle H. |
So, what exactly is a "Bainbridge Remodel"?
Let me explain.
I had thought that using aisle markers from different décor packages was a thing of the past for The Beef People, but as we can see from Kyle's July picture, this store was rocking some new Winn Win stock along with its old Green Interior walls.
I saw a similar (yet more appalling) sight when I stepped foot in Bainbridge's now-shuttered Winn-Dixie #169 last November. It seems that Winn-Dixie was on track to meet its goal of remodeling all stores by the end of 2023, until talks with Aldi began meaning that progress was slowed. At that point, the company had already performed aisle resets and the initial phases of remodels in several lingering stores but decided to call off the larger effort due to the chain's uncertain future.
Bainbridge turned out to be the first known location of at least four stores to receive one of these so-called "Bainbridge Remodels". Throughout this tour, we'll learn what else makes a Bainbridge Remodel unique.
Check out this April 2023 street view image, which shows where the remodel was underway inside this store.
Anyhow, the missing shelves simply left us with this mismatched seasonal department below the Papyrus signage for the "Empire State of the South.
The Green Interior was the first and most extensive Winn-Dixie package to introduce local flare (as we see above). The design's younger siblings, Down Down and Winn Win, only got a single set of stickers representing the neighborhood in one form or another.
Continuing toward the produce department, we get our first look at some of the 50% off clearance bins which hallmark the pending closure.
If you look closely at the right side of this picture, you can also see where the vinyl tile left over from Food Lion was beginning to peel up in a spot.
Thankfully, Winn-Dixie recognized this and installed some brand new vinyl plank flooring in the produce department during the 2023 remodel. What a shame that it will be ripped out after less than two years!
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| Courtesy Kyle H. |
The produce department was also upgraded with brand new freestanding fixtures (including the tomato cart in the distance) that will soon be sold for pennies on the dollar at auction. What a complete waste of time and money!
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| Courtesy Kyle H. |
Oh well, at least the people of St. Marys were able to think that their local supermarket was receiving an upgrade.
Let's take a quick look at the aforementioned tomato cart (which I only just realized featured LED light strips below the awning) before continuing on.
The new aisle markers work surprisingly well with The Green Interior, as they do with other older packages I've seen them with.
This scene looks like it is straight out of a Harveys with the soft drinks on the exterior wall like this. I wonder how much of the layout Winn-Dixie changed when it took over. While I am surprised that frozen foods aren't on these first two aisles (standard for a 1990's Food Lion) I'd imagine they were migrated to the opposite side of the store during the late-1990's expansion.
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| Courtesy Kyle H. |
The Green Interior's other piece of local flare is this collection of state symbols – Georgia's being the tiger swallowtail, the live oak tree, the peach, and the Cherokee rose. Of course, we already saw these back at Fran-Dixie in Columbus.
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| Courtesy Kyle H. |
We'll take one last look toward the produce department before meating up with the back of the store.
Lunch meats find themselves below some decorative panels which match the stenciling on the produce department walls.
The walls may not have been filled with much due to the low ceiling height, but even the fancier old Food Pavilion stores (like Fran-Dixie) didn't receive many more accents.
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| Courtesy Kyle H. |
The butcher window here is a classic Food Lion trait. I'm a bit surprised it isn't a one-way mirror, though, considering Food Lion's history . . .
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| Courtesy Kyle H. |
We'll catch a few bakery display tables in front of the butcher window . . .
. . . Oh, it's like a magic trick. The Germans pay a lot of money – and then poof! All of the bakery tables Winn-Dixies are gone!
But where did they go, boys & girls? Back to where they came from, of course. A liquidation sale!
If you didn't catch the reference, I'd encourage you to watch this hilarious Eddie Murphy SNL skit from a few years ago – you won't regret it!
I visited this store just under the 60 day mark of it beginning "phase 1" for its wind down, so you'll notice how most everything still looks put together. It's only once "phase 2" begins 30 days later that shelves begin to look barren, and the store hours are cut from their typical 7 AM - 10 PM to the reduced 8 AM - 9 PM.
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| Courtesy Kyle H. |
At least this signage didn't use Papyrus . . . It wouldn't be a Winn-Dixie without some sort of nod to the epitomic mantra.
It's worth noting how, outside of the produce department, all other fixtures were left over from Harveys (a.k.a. Food Lion) and featured green painted cart bumpers.
The three eras of green (the Food Lion flooring, the Harveys freezers, and the Winn-Dixie walls) don't particularly blend well here. This was far from the best implementation of The Green Interior that I've seen.
I also wouldn't be surprised if either the crack we see in the floor here or the one closer to dairy marks the transition into this store's addition.
Taking a look down aisle 10, we find another vestige from the bizarre Bainbridge remodel: the Health & Beauty sign. In addition to the complete overhaul of the produce department that we witnessed, every Bainbridge remodel I've seen has involved removing and replacing (almost) all hanging signs in the store.
I have to ask this again: Why bother?
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| Aisle 11 |
Since we know that Aldi could care less about maintaining any strides Southeastern Grocers has made over the past few years, I still wonder why the rollout of the Know & Love private label has continued (which now includes wine). What's even more puzzling is a report I recently received from The Albertsons Florida Blogger that two nearby Winn-Dixies were undergoing renovations to replace exterior doors and interior flooring. What is Aldi's end goal?
The Deutsche company seems content to wring Southeastern Grocers for all it's worth on the one hand, but on the other, it is taking some odd steps to preserve disparate pieces.
Furthermore, where has Harveys been during all of this?
Harveys Supermarkets seems to have remained largely untouched through all of this. Standing at only 23 stores strong, Harveys is seemingly only existing as a remnant of either a failed attempt by SEG to reinvent the centenarian brand or as the result of a clause Delhaize wrote into the 2013 sale to BI-LO.
Winn-Dixie has lost nearly 20% (73) of its stores to conversions, while Harveys has lost only 8% (2). What is the point of holding onto the tarnished brand for an insignificant fleet of "discount" grocery stores? These seem like they would be the prime candidates for conversions to Aldis, yet here we are. Even if the argument could be made that the remaining Delhaize Harveys stores are strong because they essentially corner rural markets, why have the rebranded Winn-Dixies in Lakeland, Ocala, and Jacksonville held on? This just feels so random.
Something else I've never understood is why windmills were chosen for the artwork in this package. Maybe they are more common in Texas where Randall is from? We dang sure don't have enough wind for them to be commonplace in Georgia or Florida!
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| Courtesy Kyle H. |
There are simply some things in this world that I cannot answer.
So far on this journey, the store has appeared well stocked and generally well presented; however, that all changes with aisle 13. Some gaps were beginning to appear in the frozen cases and more noticeably in the beer coolers. Is this mostly because beer is a DSD (direct to store delivery) item, and Winn-Dixie calls off orders early to prevent any stock from being reabsorbed by the vendor?
Regardless, I witnessed the same thing during Publix #172's final days, and this could just be a consequence of Georgia's often strange alcohol laws.
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| Courtesy Kyle H. |
I always crack up when I hear shoppers sing along to the Muzak, with one notable instance happening in Publix #599 to the 1982 hit tune "Rosanna" by Toto. The artist of choice today was Shania Twain.
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| Courtesy Kyle H. |
Any fan of mine better know that this tour is about to wrap up once we make it to the dairy aisle.
Similar to the produce department, the dairy department was simply signed with pictographs: milk, juice, yogurt, and cheese. Is there a reason why these pictographs are square rather than circular?
Finally, some words! This store lacks a formal meat & seafood counter, which means its only truly signed departments are the delicatessen and bakery – both of which are holdovers from Food Lion.
Here in the Southeast, we typically refer to this department as simply "the deli". Just another example of how this package feels a touch out of place in a Winn-Dixie. At least it still looks nice.
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| Courtesy Kyle H. |
Winn-Dixie always stocks tie-die-colored bagels in the bakery department and I still have no clue why. Are they a special flavor?
We'll take one last look toward the lonely service departments before saying our farewells.
Up front, I noticed how one of the register bumpers had an orange smudge on it, which was just like what I saw at a different former Harveys in Vidalia. Why were they originally orange? Did Food Lion get a good deal and just paint all of them?
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| Courtesy RetailRyan (Flickr) - Food Lion #1476 - May 3, 2021 |
It would appear that all of the store's fixtures date back to Food Lion's late-1990's expansion. We'll know for sure come auction time!
Regardless, you don't know how wrong it feels to see Winn-Dixie's upscale "Green Interior' register lights mounted to some worn out Food Lion conveyor belts from 25 years ago. This scene also provides a look at the single hanging sign which survived the Bainbridge remodel: customer service.
From here, I made my way to the checkout with my few items (one of which was a box of tissues that has been extremely useful over the last few days). The cashier was authentically friendly and carried on a conversation about the reusable bag I also purchased. She talked about how great they are for traveling since you can throw your shampoo, etc. in there and just go. If only she knew I was just looking for a token to remember the fallen Winn-Dixie by . . . let's just hope she is able to get a new job soon!
Back outside, we find the lonely Bank of America ATM in the parking lot. I feel like I don't come across standalone ATMs like this very often, especially at a Winn-Dixie.
The store was also adjacent to the St. Marys River estuary, which provided some nice scenery for my drive to and from I-95. Oh yeah, and I can't forget about Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay just off to the north.
Well, what did you think of this Food Lion / Harveys / Winn-Dixie / Aldi? While it isn't the nicest supermarket I've ever seen, it still seems to have served the needs of the local community over the last 3+ decades. I think it is a shame that Saint Marys is essentially regressing back in time to a sub-30,000 sq ft supermarket while being left with a much smaller selection and many fewer jobs. Unless the lower prices Aldi has are worth it, I feel like the company is doing these communities "dirty" which it claims to be supporting. I know I'd much prefer doing my weekly shopping with The Beef People rather than be forced into making trips to Kingsland for essentials like aluminum foil or fresh-sliced deli meat. On the bright side, at least Kingsland is about to get a brand new Publix.
Having made it through two of the seven supermarkets from my recent Savannah trip, it is high time to announce that I plan to start my winter break from the blog. While it will likely be January before you see regularly-scheduled posts from me again, don't fret, because I'll continue to keep you updated on all of the Winn-Dixie happenings. Not only will this break allow me time to visit with family and travel for the holidays, but it will also provide me time to navigate the daunting task of preserving any Foursquare information about stores I plan to cover in the future and (possibly) let me finish a new page that I've been working on for close to three years now. You won't want to miss it.
Until next time, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
- The Sing Oil Blogger
