ORMOND BEACH — Aldi, the nation’s fastest growing grocery chain, will open its newest location and the second in this city on Thursday morning, Dec. 18.
The new Aldi store where Winn-Dixie used to be at 353 W. Granada Blvd. in Ormond Beach will open immediately following a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8:45 a.m. It is roughly three miles east of the city’s first Aldi store which opened near Lowe’s Home Improvement in 2019.
“At our new Ormond Beach Aldi store, shoppers will find that every decision we make, from our product selection to store layout, is to provide our customers with the best products at the lowest possible prices of any national grocer,” said Matt Thon, regional vice president for Aldi, in a news release. “As shoppers look for better ways to stretch their dollar, Aldi is providing Ormond Beach with easier access to quality groceries at affordable prices.”
What festivities is Aldi planning for Ormond grand opening?
“The first 100 customers in line will receive a gift bag filled with a sampling of Aldi-exclusive products and a gift card as part of the Aldi Golden Ticket giveaway program,” according to the news release. “Shoppers can also enter a sweepstakes for a $500 Aldi gift card through opening weekend.”
Those hoping to be one of the first 100 in line better get there early. The grand opening of the Aldi store at 2880 Howland Blvd. in Deltona in May drew 300 people before its doors opened, while the opening of the chain’s store at 5500 S. Williamson Blvd. in Port Orange in July drew a line of 250. In both cases, the first in line arrived shortly after 3 a.m., nearly six hours before the scheduled openings.
How many stores does Aldi have in Volusia, Flagler?
The opening of the Aldi store at 353 W. Granada Blvd. on Thursday will be the chain’s 11th location in Volusia County. It also has two stores in Flagler County, both in Palm Coast.
It plans to open its 12th Volusia County location on Jan. 8, 2026 where Winn-Dixie used to be at 4025 S. Nova Road in Port Orange, with at least two more stores planned in Daytona Beach Shores and DeBary.
Aldi’s new Volusia stores are part of a nationwide expansion
Aldi in 2024 announced its ambitious plans to open 800 new stores across the United States by the end of 2028, with the new additions including both freestanding stores built from scratch, as in the case of the store that opened this past summer at The Shoppes at Summer Trees in Port Orange, as well as converted former Winn-Dixie supermarkets such as the store that opened in May in Deltona.
Why are Aldi stores so popular?
Aldi offers low prices that allow its customers to “save up to 36% on an average household shopping list,” compared to the average prices offered at traditional supermarket chains, according to Thon.
Aldi also “saves customers time and money by carrying a carefully curated range of products,” removing the guesswork from shopping and selling ” according to the news release.
The chain is able to do this through a combination on relying heavily on private label products, goods sold under the Aldi brand that are produced by third-party manufacturers that in some cases also produce national name brand versions of the same item.
It also offers low prices by keeping its overhead costs down through the super efficient design of its stores that allow them to be maintained and operated by fewer workers. Aldi stores typically employ 15-25 workers.
Aldi also requires customers to rent its shopping carts by inserting a quarter to unlock them, which they get back once the cart is returned.
Don’t forget the ‘Aisle of Shame’
Aldi also incorporates a treasure hunt aspect to its stores by the inclusion of an “Aldi Finds” aisle where items are offered an extremely low prices on a limited basis. The selection constantly changes and in general once an item is sold out on the shelf, it is no longer available. Some Aldi fans have jokingly dubbed the section as the “Aisle of Shame.”
When did Aldi first enter the Volusia-Flagler market?
Aldi opened its first store in Volusia County in 2008 at the Holly Hill Plaza at 812 N. Nova Road in Daytona Beach. It opened its first store in Flagler County at 5095 State Route 100 in Palm Coast in 2017.
Why are so many former Winn-Dixies becoming Aldi’s?
Aldi acquired the Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie chain in 2024, when it began converting some stores to its own brand and format. After deciding which locations to keep and convert, Aldi sold the remaining Winn-Dixie supermarkets to a Jacksonville-based consortium of private investors earlier this year.
The privately held Aldi chain did not publicly disclose a full list of the Winn-Dixie locations it chose to keep. The supermarket it still owns at the DeBary Commons shopping center in DeBary remains open as a Winn-Dixie for now, but plans submitted to the city to redevelop the space show that it is slated to be subdivided with half becoming an Aldi and the other half becoming available for lease to a future yet-to-be determined business.
The Winn-Dixie at 2200 S. Atlantic Ave. in Daytona Beach Shores closed in November with plans for half of the space to be converted into an Aldi. The other half will become available for lease to another tenant, as has been the case for all former Winn-Dixie supermarkets where Aldi has opened stores.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Aldi opening in Ormond Beach on Dec. 18. Here’s what’s planned.
Reporting by Clayton Park, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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