After more than a century in business, one of America’s most historic regional grocery store brands is undergoing a significant transformation. As part of its evolving strategy, the company continues to make difficult decisions, including store closures.
The latest announcement confirms another location will shut its doors, marking the brand’s departure from a local community.
Winn-Dixie confirms store closure
The Winn-Dixie Company has confirmed it will close its Garden Park Plaza store at 8924 N. Military Trail in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., with operations expected to end around mid-April 2026. A specific closing date has not yet been finalized.
“Transformation sometimes requires difficult decisions, and in certain cases this can mean closing a store when it’s necessary to support the future success of our company,” said Winn-Dixie in a statement reported by The Palm Beach Post.
The company added that affected employees will have opportunities to apply for roles at nearby locations.
Winn-Dixie has no other locations nearby
Although Winn-Dixie maintains a strong presence in Florida, operating approximately 327 stores, or about 91% of its total footprint, the Garden Park Plaza site is the only one in the immediate area.
There is a Publix grocery store location a half-mile away at 4200 Northlake Blvd. in Palm Beach Gardens. For those who prefer Winn-Dixie, however, the nearest locations are out of town and more than 10 miles away.
Nearest Winn-Dixie stores
- Palm Coast Plaza: 7915 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, FL (about 13.5 miles away)
- Village Royale: 1135 Royal Palm Beach Blvd., Royal Palm Beach, FL (about 16 miles away)
- Lantana Village Shopping Ctr: 1491 S. Dixie Highway, Lantana, FL (about 19 miles away)
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Southeastern Grocers rebrands as The Winn-Dixie Company
The closure comes amid a broader restructuring effort following Aldi’s 2024 acquisition of Southeastern Grocers, which included 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets locations.
Shortly after, then-Southeastern Grocers CEO Anthony Hucker, alongside a group of investors, repurchased 170 Winn-Dixie stores from Aldi, effectively regaining control of a large portion of the brand.
In early 2026, Southeastern Grocers rebranded as The Winn-Dixie Company, shifting its operations towards a more focused regional footprint. The company is now prioritizing Florida and select markets in Georgia, where it plans to invest heavily in modernization, operational efficiency, and long-term growth.
As part of this transition:
- 32 Winn-Dixie stores and eight Harveys Supermarket locations across Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi were sold.
- Rouses Market acquired 10 locations in late 2025 and began converting them into its own brand, according to its official website.
- The remaining stores were sold to other grocery operators, including Food City.
Industry pressures continue to drive store closures
Winn-Dixie’s latest closure reflects mounting pressure across the grocery sector, where traditional supermarket chains are facing competition not only from each other, but also from large-scale and nontraditional retailers.
Economic uncertainty and rising operational costs, combined with evolving consumer preferences, including the growth of online grocery shopping and value-focused spending, are forcing companies to reevaluate their business models.
More Grocery Store Closures:
- 96-year-old grocery chain acquires 18 stores from rival
- 111-year-old grocery chain closing more stores in 2026
- 110-year-old grocery chain operator closes store after 40 years
- The Giant Company acquires stores as owner exits market
U.S. retailers are expected to close about 7,900 stores in 2026, down 4.5% from 2025, while 5,500 locations are projected to open, up 4.4%, according to Coresight’s U.S. Store Tracker 2026 Outlook.
Industry analysts warn that continued store closures may have ripple effects beyond retail, particularly in local communities. Reduced physical store presence can limit access to essential goods, weaken local economies, and accelerate the shift toward e-commerce.
“For consumers, the fallout means fewer choices, diminished access to in-person shopping, and, in some cases, higher prices due to reduced competition,” said Approved Funding President and Chief Lending Officer Shmuel Shayowitz.
Scott Moses, a partner and head of the grocery, pharmacy, and restaurants advisory group at Solomon Partners, highlighted the growing competitive pressures from large-scale and nontraditional retailers.
“For many years, I’ve been sounding the alarm about the rise of national/discount grocers— Walmart, Target, Costco, Amazon, Dollar General, Family Dollar, and Dollar Tree — and the existential threat that they pose to supermarket grocers, just as we’ve all seen over the last 20 years how department stores have been marginalized,” said Moses to Supermarket News.
A defining moment for Winn-Dixie
Founded in 1925 in Miami as Winn & Lovett Grocery Co., Winn-Dixie has served generations of Southern families and now operates approximately 360 stores across five states.
As the company continues its transformation, it is navigating a rapidly changing retail landscape in which scale, pricing power, and convenience increasingly determine success.
The Palm Beach Gardens store closure may be an early signal of broader changes ahead.
As competition intensifies and cost pressures persist, similar decisions could continue to reshape the footprints of regional grocery chains across the U.S.
Related: 106-year-old retail brand operator closing all stores in bankruptcy
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