As Winn-Dixie locations continue to shutter across Florida to be converted into the German-based discount grocery store, Aldi, three more Pensacola area stores are slated to close in the coming months.
Navarre was the first city to get an Aldi in the PNJ coverage area in 2022, followed by Pensacola’s very first Aldi at 2950 S. Blue Angel Parkway a month later as part of Aldi’s expansion plan in the region. Since then, Aldi has opened an additional four locations in the area—Mobile Highway and East Nile Mile Road stores in Pensacola, and U.S 90 and Dogwood Drive in Milton.
Since then, Aldi acquired Southeastern Grocers (SEG), including Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket in 2024. Less than a year later it turned around and sold most of them to a consortium of private investors led by SEG president Anthony Hucker, but kept the ones where conversion plans were underway.
Now, Aldi plans to finish converting the locations they have already started. Southeastern Grocers will continue to operate the stores identified for conversation and has promised to work to assure “a smooth conversion.”
Here’s a look at which Winn-Dixie stores in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties are on the table for conversion and which locations will remain Winn-Dixie.
Three Pensacola area Winn-Dixie locations set to remain open
“At this time, the following Winn-Dixie grocery and liquor stores will continue normal business operations, serving the community with the same great quality, service and value our customers know and love,” an SEG spokesperson told the News Journal in an email.
Three Pensacola area Winn-Dixie locations closing to convert to Aldi
“We can confirm the following Winn-Dixie grocery stores will close in the coming months to convert to ALDI,” SEG wrote this week.
Four Pensacola area Winn-Dixie locations already closed, converted to Aldi
“The following Winn-Dixie grocery stores have already closed to convert to the ALDI format,” SEG wrote.
“All associates at these locations received advance notice, and Southeastern Grocers worked closely with ALDI to ensure a smooth transition,” an SEG spokesperson told the News Journal in an email. “Associates had the first opportunity to apply for roles at the new ALDI store or continue their careers with Winn-Dixie at another location.”
What is Winn-Dixie?
William Milton Davis and his sons opened several grocery stores in Miami in the 1920s and began buying and absorbing other stores. Over the next few decades, they acquired hundreds of other stores and chains including the Winn & Lovett chain in the 1930s and the 117-store Dixie Home chain in the 1950s. They rebranded as Winn-Dixie and became widespread all over Florida and the South.
Winn-Dixie kept expanding until the company ran into financial problems that forced it to close 120 stores in 2004 and file for bankruptcy in 2005. In 2006, Winn-Dixie was bought by Bi-Lo Holdings for $530 million. The new company became Southeastern Grocers, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018 to reorganize. The company also embarked on a plan to upgrade all of its locations.
In March of 2024, Southeastern Grocers was acquired by Aldi. In February 2025, a consortium of private investors, led by Southeastern Grocers Inc and its wholesale provider, cut a deal to reacquire the stores that had not been chosen for Aldi conversions.
Winn-Dixie Stores is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.
What is Aldi?
Aldi is an international chain of no-frills grocery stores with no coupons and few if any big-name brand products. You pay a quarter to get a shopping cart (you get it back when you return it) and you bag your own groceries with empty boxes from the store, bags you bought there or containers from home.
There is a double-your-money-back “Twice is Nice” guarantee on its store brand products and the chain regularly offers “FINDS,” limited-time offers that change weekly or seasonally and other discounted deals. The company does not offer a membership program, although this April as a joke they announced a new, free, no-subscription, cardless program with 331.9 million members (i.e. the population of the United States) to get the same low prices they offer anyway.
The Aldi chain was founded by Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946 (Aldi is an abbreviated form of “Albrecht Diskont”). After the brothers got into an argument over whether the stores should sell cigarettes, in 1960 they split the company into Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd, which both operate stores internationally in different regions. U.S. stores, including the new Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores, are operated by Aldi Süd. Aldi Nord also owns Trader Joe’s.
Aldi U.S. is based in Batavia, Illinois.
What’s different between Winn-Dixie and Aldi?
Since the 1920s, Winn-Dixie has been known as “The Beef People,” although they have used multiple slogans in recent years with “It’s a Winn Win! since 2018.
Aldi does not offer a meat counter.
Nor does it have a deli, a pharmacy or a bakery, or a liquor store. There are no elaborate displays, no overhead music, a much smaller selection with few duplicates of item brands, lots of house brands, and fewer open hours. The goal of all of these is to keep prices low, the company says.
Why does Aldi make you pay a quarter?
If you need a shopping cart to peruse the aisles of Aldi, make sure you bring a quarter with you. Aldi carts are free to use, but there’s an asterisk next to the word “free.”
Inserting a quarter into a cart will unlock it for use. When you’re done using the cart, you put it back and get your quarter back. This ensures that users return the cart and saves the store from needing an employee to bring in carts.
Aldi also doesn’t offer bags to its customers, so shoppers should plan ahead and bring their own bags.
Did we mention you have to bag your own groceries? Once you check out with your items, there are nearby counters where you can bag your groceries before exiting the store.
What are Aldi’s best products?
Aldi has plenty of quality items to score, but it helps while shopping to have a baseline of what you’re looking for. On Aldi’s website, they list over 100 of their best, award-winning products, ranging from new products to Chef’s Best Excellence. Here are Aldi’s 2025 Products of the Year:
Contributing: USA TODAY CO. reporters Alexandria Mansfield, Dave Berman, C.A. Bridges and Edward Bunch III contributed to this report.
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This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: 3 more Pensacola area Winn-Dixie stores to close and convert to Aldi
Reporting by Brittany Misencik, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
