Winn Dixie Liquors?
 

With Aldi set to take over the Winn Dixie at LSL, what will become of the Winn Dixie Liquors store that is adjacent? To my knowledge, that is not something Aldi's historically has operated. Will it be picked up by someone and operated as a stand alone liquor store? Will Aldi just collapse the space into its grocery store operation there? That is just a convenient booze shop and would hate to see it go away.

May be different in the US, but Aldi UK have a substantial booze area in every one of their stores here, and very competitively priced.

Grocery stores can sell wine and beer, but not liquor. You need a special license to sell liquor. But, if you cannot find liquor in The Villages, you aren't trying.

Aldi's also owns the Winn Dixie in Pinellas Plaza and so far, they have kept the Winn Dixie name and the liquor store.

Need to change that law.
Us drunks need all the cheap booze we can get!

The answer is currently: "Unknown", but with a "Maybe" component.

I found this:

"In an unexpected twist, it appears that Aldi plans to construct liquor stores of its own in Florida, marking a first for the company. Plans for the conversion of Winn-Dixies #2413 in Tampa and #2527 in Apollo Beach reveal existing Winn-Dixie liquor stores being rebadged and relocated to the new Aldi side of the buildings. This poses the question of whether Aldi intends to operate the liquor stores itself or lease them out to a third party. Regardless, it appears that the German discounter has long-term ambitions for the lucrative alcohol market in the state of Florida."

Source: My Florida Retail Blog: Winn-Dixie to Aldi Conversions - Rolling List

We were told by a manager at the Winn Dixie in LSL that the store would be closing, and all the employees would have to reapply for a job with Aldi's. The closing date is December 2nd.

According to the construction plans posted on village news the liquor store is being moved to the right side of the current entrance to Winn Dixie at Lake Sumter as part of the changeover to ALDIs. It appears separate of the ALDI store itself.

The whole thing is interesting to watch. I don't see any change at Winn Dixie. Same employees. Prices are up but is that due to change of owners or just that prices are up? With two different names they could easily work together against the consumer.
Run the same product at both stores to make one higher than need be to make the other normal price seem like a sale.
Our Winn Dixie in ten years has been Albrecht, Winn Dixie and now Aldis

Oh the horror. Potential of losing a liquor store

People actually buy booze from Winn-Dixie? :shocked:

We’ve heard Winn Dixie liquors will go away and also Aldi will only use 1/2 the Winn Dixie stores and sublet the other half out… they are sticking to their small footprint model.

Also, we’ve found Walmart liquors are usually cheaper than anywhere else especially Total Wine, may not have quite the selection but I’ve found everything I need at Walmart.

As an aside to this topic....Aldi isn't plural as so many people call it. NO Aldi's or Aldis. I would expect though an answer posted on Social Media won't be forth-with. Maybe e-mail corporate and ask the question(s).

Liquor
 

Easy. Go across the street to ABC Liquors where they have a nice selection of quality booze!!

Winking Owl wine will be on the shelves

disposition of liquor store at Winn Dixie
 

spoke with manager at Winn Dixie who stated the liquor store would move into a different space at market while existing space occupied would be rented out to another vendor like Dollar General etc.

WD future TBD
 

Aldi USA is run out of Batavia, IL. When WD/Harvey's reopens as an Aldi, it will shift to management and procurement handled by that location. Until then WD/Harvey banners will operate as they have been, out of the current WD HQ in Jacksonville.

When you look at the concentration of Aldi stores in the WD/Harvey's foot print this looks like more of a play to keep their fellow European Rival, Lidl, from having an opportunity at rapid expansion. The industry has seen Lidl evaluating their US strategy for the past 24 months. They have not grown like Aldi since coming to the US. It was said to be a stay or go decision. Taking WD/Harvey stores, which are all located in an area of the country where Aldi is already very developed and upgrading older locations (US entry strategy years ago was "find a grocery location that closed due to a WalMart SuperCenter opening and go in that location." Think of where old Aldi's are located.) or opening new locations with the Tan Brick store fronts in other areas in addition to these original stores. Lidl stores have small bakeries (limited baking hours), Deli sections, Much larger Dairy, Frozen and Meat sections than Aldi. If WD was still on the market 6 months ago Lidl would have bought them and been able to shut the stores for a few days, replace the WD/Harvey signs, and make very minor modifications to the interior and reopen. No remodels except for cosmetic things like removing some service cases and replacing them with shelving would have been needed in each store. Aldi did not need 400 stores in the area. Lidl did/does. Aldi says they are going to operate WD/Harvey separately. True, but not long term. When they resell the rest of the chain or sell locations separately, they get to pick the tenant. It will not be Lidl.

Keep in mind that Kroger was in Florida but is not now. They could not do the current Albertson's buy AND buy WD and get government approval (may not get Albertson's purchase approval). The Kroger/Albertson consolidation will be cleared up over the next 12 months or less one way or the other. At that time would Kroger be interested in purchasing some of the remaining locations of WD/Harvey's? They have stores in Northern Alabama, most of north and Central Georgia. No Kroger stores in southern Louisiana or southern Mississippi (where no Aldi conversions are taking place by the way) Government approval would sail through since it would increase competition in Florida. Looks like Aldi knows or at least is betting on this while keeping Lidl at bay and forcing them to build new locations or do major remodels of empty locations that were not existing grocery stores, at a much greater expense.

Add to this that Kroger is keeping Groveland FL based Ocado driven, money losing delivery service open in Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando and Jacksonville after closing their South Florida spoke locations recently. Kroger would get a base of stores outside of key markets to open almost immediately while they are building other locations exactly where they want them in growing cities. Publix did this exact same thing when entering the Atlanta Market, taking over some A&P/Big Star stores in secondary area while building from the ground up in key neighborhoods.

Went there yesterday evening and the beer cooler section was over half empty. They appear to be not restocking and winding down at that location.

Cheap Booze
 

Wait until Costco arrives!

Same for Kroger

I suppose you want cheap cigarettes also:oops:.

What if taking about more than one store? Surely Aldi has more than one store? Also auto correct sometimes automatically substitutes word with out noticing it?

Grocers
 

That's a *lot* of grocery store info! I don't miss being a bagboy on Friday nights. :-)

Hey, leave me out of this. :laugh:

Can't wait that long.
Couldn't face being sober after all these years, plus all the DT's! :ohdear:

About $20 a packet of twenty here in UK.
When I smoked 45+ years ago, I was a 40-60 a day man.
Only those living off the state here, can afford to smoke these days!

Yet, as soon as drinking and driving laws came into force, and they banned one eyed driving, I knocked the booze on the head overnight, and I loved a pint or ten.
My driving license was my living.
The cigs were a different proposition.
I struggled for a long time to knock them on the head.

That’s weird. I went there and the cooler was almost half full.

Winn Dixie liquor store at sumter
 

Liquor store clerk told me liquor store will move to the empty part that Aldi uses and will be three times the size of current store.

And what happened then....?
Well....in The Villages they say
The liquor store at Aldi
Grew THREE sizes that day