A popular discount grocery chain is headed for Arcadia.
Arcadia’s first Aldi location, the former Winn-Dixie at 1737 E. Oak St., will open June 12. The store is one of hundreds slated to open across the U.S. as Aldi converts former Winn-Dixie locations to its own brand.
The first 100 customers at the 8:45 a.m. grand opening will receive a gift bag filled with Aldi products and a gift card as part of the Aldi Golden Ticket gift card giveaway program, per a press release. Shoppers can also enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a $500 Aldi gift card through opening weekend.
The store will operate daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
What is Aldi?
A German grocery chain with U.S. operations based in Illinois, Aldi is known for its low prices and limited selections. Brand-name products are a rarity on its shelves, and the grocer has no meat counter, deli, pharmacy, bakery or liquor store. The company doesn’t offer coupons either, but it runs seasonal deals and discounts on occasion.
Customers pay a quarter to use a cart — which is refunded when they return the cart — and bag their groceries with boxes from the store or containers they brought from home. The company says it puts the measures in place to keep prices low.
Where are new Aldi stores are coming to Florida?
The Arcadia location is one of 18 new Florida stores listed on the Aldi website’s grand opening page. Here are the others:
Aldi has already opened several Florida stores this year as part of its expansion initiative. Here’s where they are:
What’s happening to Florida Winn-Dixie stores?
The new stores come as Aldi’s expansion efforts have ebbed and flowed. After acquiring Southeastern Grocers Inc. — the parent company of Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets — early last year, it sold the company back to a collection of private investors connected to Southeastern Grocers and a wholesale supplier that served Winn-Dixie.
Aldi originally planned an ambitious five-year, $9 billion initiative to add 800 stores nationwide through new construction and the conversion of existing stores under the Southeastern Grocers umbrella, mostly Winn-Dixie locations. The sale back to Southeastern Grocers included about 170 grocery stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, but Aldi will finish the in-progress conversions of stores it gained in the original purchase.
In total, around 220 former Winn-Dixie and Harvey stores will become Aldi stores by 2027.
C.A. Bridges contributed to this report.
Contact Herald-Tribune Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @hmb_1013.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Arcadia’s first Aldi opening June 12 as part of slate of new Florida stores
Reporting by Heather Bushman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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