Winn-Dixie #168
Chiefland Regional Shopping Center
Chiefland, FL 32626
Marketplace Madness 2024: Something New
For additional news regarding the ALDI acquisition of Southeastern Grocers, click here.
Remodel coverage added on March 9, 2024 - scroll down for the original post from March 23, 2022
Welcome back to My Florida Retail Blog for the second post in this year's Marketplace Madness series! Last time, we explored a futuristic Winn-Thriftie that was replaced by a Marketplace store in Pinson, AL, which, if you are keeping track of things, means that we will be looking at "something new" today. On the one hand, this store may not be as new as Winn-Dixie #2234 in Apopka, but on the other, it still showcases a great example of The Beef People's newest remodel package: Winn-Win.
Okay, okay, Winn-Win has been around for several years now and this particular store held its grand reopening nearly two years ago in April 2022; however, with the Aldi acquisition being finalized two days ago, all bets are off as to whether or not we'll ever see a newer look out of the Jacksonville grocer.
That being said, some of you should recognize this façade from one of my most MFR popular posts (and the first piece I published on the site). A mere month before the Chiefland WD completed its remodel, I published my initial coverage of this site documenting the store's final hours with Rose & Blanche Teal Marketplace. I'd encourage you to reread that section for a refresher because today we are going to see how this store looked several months following the transformation. Let me say that I was shocked by the outcome.
Having been the first major remodel since this store's expansion to the Marketplace concept in April 1993, (thanks to Henry H. for digging that tidbit up) I knew this store underwent quite the shakeup.
Those changes started outside: in addition to the new interior, Winn-Dixie also sacrificed a portion of its old produce department to receive a full-service liquor store. That's honestly not a bad use for the space considering how most of these old Marketplace stores have been scaled back from their original offerings. To add to that, I'm inclined to say that this portion of the store, roughly 15,000 square feet, was tacked on during that 1993 expansion. It appears that the leftmost column in this photo would have previously marked the end of the original building, while everything under the solid red portion of the wall is part of the addition.
As for the 2022 conversion, Winn-Dixie decided to carve this set of sliding glass doors out of a previously empty wall. It makes sense to utilize the extra space within this store's existing footprint rather than taking over a different, vacant storefront in the plaza, especially if it means this WD didn't have to receive the new low-height shelves I've seen elsewhere.
Stepping inside, we find the carts just where we left them, only slightly rosier than their previous counterparts.
Conversely, the checkout lines and customer service areas have experienced quite the conversion. I will say that the front wall does feel a bit bland here – I suppose we can't have it all though.
Now, for the amazing part: look at that new Produce Patch! I still cannot believe how much of a transformation this part of the store underwent in a matter of months, but the space changed from a tired relic of the past to fresh and modern fast!
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| December 2021 visit |
We'll see this a bit later on, but take note of the two mirrors on either side of the "fresh" sign in the modern picture – those are actually windows into the adjacent liquor store. I'm not sure what functional purpose they serve; however, they do a nice job of breaking up the wall and adding some visual interest.
I'm also a big fan of the new color palette since I feel like the green walls, brown vinyl floors, and black trim work well to give the space an upscale feel. Meanwhile, the pops of red and the textured department sign provide just enough visual interest to spice things up. Doesn't this corner look much better than it would have with Down Down? Doesn't it look sharper than it did with the old, pasty pastels? (Or better yet, the shiny avocado?)
Also, do you see the section of the wall that sticks out to the right of the produce cases (to the right of the door in the 2021 photo)? I think that is the mark of where the store ended back in 1989 since it lines up with the rest of the support columns on this side of the store. It also fits the bill of where the seem in the roof (visible in satellite imagery) would be.
With the reconfiguration of the produce department, the floral section was moved to the old promotional nook. I'd say that's a fair trade off considering the ample floor space still available for BOGO bins next to the checkouts.
Something that I don't often encounter in supermarkets is a bin of bulk green peanuts like we see here. That may not be the reason I took this photo (which I'm sure was instead for the "Hello Chiefland" sign), although, it's still worth pointing out.
The biggest downside of adding the liquor store is that it left behind this odd nook in the back right corner. The fact that the cold beer coolers are discontinuous begins the awkward navigation, which is continued by the narrow gap between the pallet drops and the shortened aisle 1. At least it makes sense for beer and wine to be isolated in its own alcove. Previously, there was just a straight shot back to the seafood counter full of water-stained ceiling tiles and burned-out lights.
Turning the corner (and somehow skipping the seafood department), we find the cases for luncheon meat followed by more of the same for fresh meat. While these refrigerators appear to be new, I still wonder what are the odds that the units actually date back to the late-1980's, and just have new skins.
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| December 2021 visit |
Another WD staple is the bountiful aisle of soft drinks. Now that I think about it, Publix typically doesn't have an entire aisle dedicated to the fizzy stuff, but maybe The Beef People just need that much more room for Chek Cola.
Continuing on, we find the frozen foods aisle complete with the Winn-Dixie signature bank of coffin freezers. It appears that the remodel crews added a new electrical drop to the coffin coolers, all while the refrigerant lines seemingly remained under the floor (or the units themselves are self-contained). Whether old or new, borrowed or blue, this case will have to live on another day.
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| December 2021 visit |
I feel like others could have mentioned this before, but does anybody think it's strange that the produce department lacks any signage indicating the actual items being sold? Every other department in this package features verbose text for the given products; however, we are only given "Fresh" here rather than "Produce", or "Fruits & Vegetables". How do we know that "Fresh" isn't supposed to represent "fresh meat" or "fresh dairy". Are those other departments not fresh? I guess this just reinforces Retail Retell's theory that department signage isn't actually necessary.
Had I known Winn-Dixie would eliminate its pharmacies just over a year after this shot was taken, I would have done a better job of framing the counter! Regardless, at least I managed to get some sort of photographic evidence that it existed.
On top of that, here's the best shot I got of a straight-on view of that refreshed space. Spicy, isn't it?
Jumping to the back of the store, we find an oddly placed pizza supply station guiding us toward the restrooms. I'm not completely sure, but I believe the main reason I took this photo was to highlight the original wood paneling that was painted white and grey as part of the remodel.
Let's round the corner to take a look at the remainder of the store and the dairy department, cheese and thank you.
Reaching back in our collective memory, you should recall that the leftmost aisle of this store was previously pulled from a mimosa maker's dream. Unfortunately, the champagne and orange juice have yielded to paper products and coffee creamer. Off in the distance we can still see the combination deli / bakery.
Eh, and why not throw in a shot of this same corner in the old Pinson store from last time's post for comparison. It's still crazy to think how much wider the dairy aisle originally was in the Chiefland store, assuming it matched what's left in the Pinson store.
Speaking of the deli, here's a closer look. I was itchen' for a good shot of this corner of the store, but that dastardly column had to get in the way. Kurse you!
WD really did stuff a lot into this part of the store, and it looks like they had to shrink the traditional sliced meat cases to make way for that large upright cooler on the left. The bread tables also seem to be taller and more compacted than I'm accustomed to seeing.
Not the goat soap!? We first encountered this specialty soap display at Publix #1306, but it turns out that Publix wasn't the only Floridian grocer who wanted some fancy goat milk bars. Now I just wonder whether or not Aldi cares about using "goat milk for added moisture."
I'm also presuming that the $17.99 price tag is the cost per pound, meaning that WD surprisingly beats Publix' price of $1.49/oz. by several dollars.
So, what do you think of the remodel? Is it an improvement over the Golden Girls look, or should The Beef People have gone back to the future for this one? I'd say this store appears to be quite healthy and beautiful!
Now, the question just lingers as to what will happen once the Aldi deal closes (pending approval) (whelp, that's what happens when you write posts several weeks in advance). Will all of these fresh-looking stores soon become sleepers of a bygone supermarket era? Will only half of this store live on as an Aldi? Will the German company expand die Rindfleischleute's footprint? As was the case before, we'll just have to wait and see.
Anyway, that will do it for this week's post, but make sure to checkout my remodel coverage of Publix GreenWise Market #1573 from last week if you haven't already. Also, make sure to check back in on my blog in two weeks to read part three of Marketplace Madness: Something Borrowed.
Until then,
- The Sing Oil Blogger
Original March 23, 2022, post follows below:
Winn-Dixie Marketplace #168
Chiefland Regional Shopping Center
Chiefland, FL 32626
Updated on June 29, 2022 to add additional historical information
Hey everybody, the Sing Oil Blogger here! You may remember me from a guest post covering Publix #1427 over on The Albertsons Florida Blog, or I could be a complete stranger. Regardless, I have a feeling that this won't be the last you'll hear from me here on MFR. I'm really excited to share my broader retail journeys here, which will include some friendly Florida faces and a bit of Georgian flare. My personal documentation project, The Sing Oil Company Blog, primarily focuses on the history of a small Southeastern convenience store chain, but also includes some feature stories on my More Than Convenience page (including a cool series on Publix's Wavy Pastels décor that will go live this Saturday).
In the meantime, let's jump into one of Florida's major grocery chains (aka, one of two) and catch a glimpse of a rural Florida supermarket.
Some History
Until recently, I had always thought that Winn-Dixie was two steps away from liquidation. I've always remembered their 2005 bankruptcy, and how many stores near my hometown closed so long ago; I wondered how the company was still around. It seems like most of the stores I've been to since that point had been forgotten about: stuck in a time warp until they finally shriveled up and died. I had seen Winn-Dixie get acquired, make acquisitions of its own, and file for another bankruptcy which all made me question the company's long-term ambitions. I had written Winn-Dixie off as simply another Kmart style extended liquidation, until a few months ago. Occasionally, I travel down US 19 on the west coast of Florida, which passes through many small towns that seem lost to time (it's called the "Forgotten Coast" for a reason). This region of Florida has a lot of charm to it and makes me wonder how the rest of the state was before the excessive commercialization had taken hold. Along this route, I would pass three Winn-Dixie stores in particular that always seemed to be relics of the past: store #3 in Monticello, FL, store #104 in Perry, FL, and store #168 in Chiefland, FL. Until last year, all three of these stores exhibited some form of Marketplace décor, with packages that dated back to the 1990's. It was when I noticed Winn-Dixie remodeling these stores to their current Winn-Win interior that I knew the company had made some sort of turnaround. As the only full-service supermarkets in these towns (and the closest Publix being in Tallahassee or Gainesville) these stores had a captive audience, making them WD's lowest priority on the renovation list. I missed my chance to photograph stores #3 and #104 before they were modernized, but I was able to capture some pictures of #168 before it had been touched. Boy, am I glad I did, because I checked Google Maps and the store was undergoing renovations in the beginning of March. I've since rushed to photograph one more Marketplace store that I will share at some point. Update: this store had it's grand re-opening on April 2, 2022, to celebrate the remodeled store and the new liquor store. I hope to visit this store soon to photograph an updated tour.
I find it bittersweet because on one hand, a quirky, vintage décor package will probably meet its demise in matter of months, but on the other, Winn-Dixie is making a turn around with stores that come close to rivaling Publix, in my opinion. I was shocked the first time I walked into a remodeled Winn-Win store and think that they are a positive change for a company which has struggled for decades. I also know that Marketplace will stick around for a number of years, due to the sheer number of stores that were sold off in 2005. One day I'll give a tour of one of those I found . . .
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| Courtesy USEnds.com (Michael Summa) - 1978 - US 19/98/ALT 27 & US 129 - Chiefland, FL |
Update from duckman66: "This WD replaced an older store at US 19-98 & US 129 further south (now Save-A-Lot). If I remember correctly, that store was small and unremodeled from when it opened in the early 1970s. Eckerd's also moved from that center to this one."
I was able to find a picture I had previously seen showing Chiefland's old Winn-Dixie, located at 110 Rodgers Blvd (which is the store duckman66 references above). That store still stands, and seems to still feature a mansard roof from its WD days.
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| Courtesy Pleasant Family Shopping - 1975 - Location unknown |
Although the photo above is not the old Chiefland store, it looks like the current Save-A-Lot did receive an exterior refresh at some point to add a mansard to the corner of the building, similar to the one we see above. This Street View shows how the store looks today.
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| The Shopping Center's sign facing US 19 / US 98 / Alt-US 27 Did somebody say Winn-Dixie changed their logo? I have a feeling this sign has been there since the mid-1990's, maybe longer. |
According to Levy County's tax records, Winn-Dixie, the adjacent shopping center, and Wal-Mart were all built in 1989. What surprises me is the website also lists Chiefland's Supercenter as being built in 1995. I don't typically follow Walmart's business decisions, but six years seems like a really short time to inhabit a store just to move across the street. I guess the Arkansas company was really excited about their Supercenters! The south end of the shopping center now houses a Tractor Supply (in 1/2 of the former Wal-Mart), restaurant, and a few other businesses.
Update: thanks to a comment below from duckman66, the pylon sign above is original to this shopping center's construction. Additionally, aside from paint and the construction associated with Tractor Supply's opening, the plaza façade has not been remodeled since it opened. He also added this: "I believe this WD was (lightly) remodeled into a "Marketplace" around the time Walmart moved across the street, and has been mostly untouched since. Walmart opening in town in 1989 was a big deal, and yes, the original Walmart lasted only 6 years. There's still an expansion pad to the right of the old Walmart entrance (common for Florida Division 1 Walmarts built in the late 1980s)."
I had not realized it before I read his comment, but if you look between the old Walmart and the Winn-Dixie, there is a vacant piece of land where the Walmart façade was just continued to connect to the rest of the shopping center. It is crazy how they allotted for space to expand the store, but elected to move across the street instead! The new store is certainly larger than the expanded old one would have been.
Meanwhile, the northern end of the plaza (pictured above) is now home to a Bealls Outlet, Subway, Little Caesars, Chinese restaurant, jewelry shop, and nail salon, in addition to a few other businesses.
According to AFB, Winn-Dixie would have been using their Chrome Marketplace décor when this store opened, meaning it had received one remodel in its lifetime (until now). Fortunately, I coerced my family into letting me photograph this store back in November because I could tell that it wouldn't be long before the Marketplace interior came down-down.
The Store
Let me disclose that the chrome has tarnished a bit on my Winn-Dixie knowledge. Since their recent renaissance, I have tried to polish it up a bit by reading blogs like this one. That being said, feel free to correct me if some of my assumptions are incorrect!
One of Winn-Dixie's iconic features (even on long abandoned buildings) is the entrance sign pointing toward the front doors. If the entrance wasn't obvious enough, here's your sign!
Stepping just inside, we see the customer service counter to our left, and our first glimpses of Winn-Dixie's "rose-and-teal color scheme" Marketplace décor. I believe the Marketplace concepts (including this store) began in the late-1980's with the chrome look, followed by the more-sedate cream-and-teal version in the early-1990's. From what I can tell, WD used the rose package during the mid-to-late 1990's (especially since the Tallahassee store that I linked to above opened in 1998). Considering this store has looked the same for the last quarter century, it is surprising that it received a remodel within its first ten years of being open!
Turning to the right, we see the check lanes and a good overview of the store. I didn't get a picture of the cart area, but it would be located just out of the right frame of this picture. These early Marketplace stores look like they didn't get a fancy ceiling fixtures, but they did get the colored laminate tiles. The checkout counters look quite vintage as well.
The first department we'll look at is produce, located in the front right of the store. As you can tell by the poinsettias in the right side of the frame, the store was gearing up for Christmas. This brings me to my next point, notice how the wall next to the "Produce Patch" diamond says "flowers." I don't remember if the store had more flowers besides the poinsettias, but it seems the department has shrunk over the last few decades!
Here's a look at the front wall of the produce department. While this version of Marketplace is simple, I think it does a good job of preventing the space from looking empty.
We'll take one last look at the produce department before we move on to the rest of the store. I'm surprised at how few ceiling fixtures this store has, since other Marketplace stores got vaulted ceilings or pink florescent lights. All we have to look at are rows of tube lighting and some Kmart-style air vents. I imagine that this produce department would have looked like this when it opened.
Next, we'll move on to the "Wall of Values" along the right side of the store. While there are a few pallet drops of sale items, it looks like the wall has mostly been repurposed for snacks. This section of ceiling probably looks worse than any other section of the store since it has a few lights burned out and some water damage in the ceiling tiles. I have to say, for how old the décor is in this store was, the building was very clean, well-stocked, and well kept. The local employees seemed to do a good job of keeping their aging supermarket presentable!
I'm also glad that I was able to photograph this interior in such presentable & original shape because that seems like a rarity with 25 year old décor packages. Other than the aisle signs, checkout cubes, and category markers, the entire package seemed like it was in place and in good shape. What's even better is all of the neon worked on the signs scattered throughout the store!
I, personally, think this is one of the coolest shots I got of this store. Not only is the late-1990's "Dockside Fresh Seafood" sign fully in-tact and functional, but the tile backsplash also dates back to the original late-1980's interior! I did not realize this when I was in the store, but AFB's post a few months ago made me realize that the first-gen Marketplace décor refers to the seafood department as "Fisherman's Warf" while later packages call it "Dockside." The blue tiles are also original to 1989 and can be seen in this Winn-Dixie-turned-Ingles. Even though AFB didn't get to see what the seafood department looked like in his first-gen Marketplace tour, we get to see it on full display here!
Looking along the back wall of the store, we see some original 1989 coolers housing lunch meat. If you take a closer look at those coolers, you'll see signage from Winn-Dixie's Transformational package that reads "dinner meat" etc. I was able to notice traces of three post-Marketplace environment packages walking around this store (four if you include the "Winning Deals" signs), but there could be more!
One thing that was certainly from Marketplace was this aisle topper in the books and magazines section. I find it interesting that Kroger and Target have only recently begun to use the "glowing" plastic (although theirs is green) while Winn-Dixie was using an orange form of it since the 1990's!
I managed to get pieces of three outdated Winn-Dixie décors in one shot! The "Smoked Meats" sign is (obviously) late-1990's Marketplace, the "Ground Beef" sign is from the purple/maroon days, and the "Breakfast Meat" sign is from the Transformational package. And don't forget, the breakfast meat cooler is from first-gen Marketplace!
As usual, frozen foods can be found in the middle of the store, complete with some lawn chairs on top of the freezers.
It wouldn't be a Marketplace store without some fun patterns in the floor! It is surprising that WD spent the money during the late-1990's remodel to redo the floors, but I can't imagine this tile blending with the bold colors of first-gen Marketplace.
I made sure to photograph all of the department signs since I could read the writing on the wall for this store: it said "Fresh Meats" are located here.
I only thought to photograph the grocery aisles once I was in the second half of the store, but aisle 12 was home to pet supplies. I will note that this store received the "post-bankruptcy" aisle markers sometime between 2008-2011; I think this store's originally would have looked like this. You can tell the designers of the Marketplace interior did not intend for the package to last 30+ years because original aisle signs that I have seen pictures of look awfully faded. Somebody didn't use UV resistant paper and ink!
Aisle 13 features a variety of paper products.
Taking a look at the coolers on the back wall, I got a better picture of a wood-grained one that dates back to 1989. Marketplace may be dated in its own right, but these refrigerators really seal the deal! I'm sure this store's electricity bill will really go down once they finish the Winn-Win remodel and get new, more efficient ones.
Between the cheese and yogurt coolers is the hallway to the restrooms. I'm not sure if the paneling stood out to me, or if it was the sign, but the store feels like the 1980's back here. For perspective, here's how this area of the store would have looked like with first-gen Marketplace.
The back left corner of the store is where you could find eggs, butter, and cheese, along with some coolers.
Finally, we get to the "Beverage Center" along the left wall of the store. I find it unfortunate that I couldn't get a picture of the words in the teal strip along this wall due to all of those pesky Styrofoam coolers. Oh well.
Across from the eggs, milk, and orange juice, is wine. Perfect for the breakfast of champions!
This store seems to be laid out similarly to how #2229 was, which AFB gave us a tour of a few months ago. I liked his description of this aisle so much, I wanted to copy it to this post: "The coolers along the wall were home to mostly dairy products, making for a bit of a strange amalgamation of products in this aisle. (However, one plus to the old arrangement was that the champagne and orange juice were right across the aisle from each other - now those two items are located at separate ends of the store, and I'm sure the forgetful Sunday brunch folks won't be happy about that on a last minute mimosa run!)"
At the end of the beverage aisle, we find the deli and bakery (and another functional neon sign).
Above we can see the deli, which I believe is in the same configuration as it was in 1989. While I believe all of the second-tier signs are from the 1990's version of Marketplace, they look particularly vintage. Especially the one on the left of Winn-Dixie's butcher motif.
Over to the right is the bakery section.
And to the left of the deli is the pharmacy. I think the font Winn-Dixie used on the teal signs has a neat 3D effect to it, even though it is obviously 2D. This store was lucky enough to keep its pharmacy through Winn-Dixie's multiple rounds of closures.
We'll take one last look at the front end of the store and take in all of the rose-and-teal we can! I'd guess the prescription drop off and pick up signs are a later addition from Down-Down. (Update: AFB pointed out that these signs are from the Transformational package in the comments.)
And one last look at the frozen foods department, this time from the front of the store.
Before we check out, I wanted to show how old the checkout counters looked. Just take a look at that pre-2012 Florida Lottery logo! Judging by all of the other fixtures in the store, I have a feeling that these date back to 1989. The cubes, meanwhile, are another relic from Winn-Dixie's purple/maroon package.
Thank You for Photographing America's Supermarket! Maybe one day I will make it back to Chiefland to see how the renovation turned out, but I have a feeling this store looks much more modern now. Winn-Dixie hasn't seemed to spare any expense in other Winn-Win remodeled stores I have seen, so hopefully this store will get some new life to allow it to serve the Forgotten Coast for another 30+ years to come.
That is all for now, but make sure to check out my blog this weekend for my new mini-series "Publix Waves Goodbye."
- The Sing Oil Blogger
