This Popular Southern Grocery Store Chain Keeps Expanding

Last year was a busy one for expanding southern grocery store Winn-Dixie, and this year is no different. The chain just opened up another new location in Florida.

The Viera, Fla. store is the ninth new Winn-Dixie store to open in the state since early 2020. Over 30 locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi have been upgraded, too, according to Supermarket News, bringing the total number of new and remodeled stores to 41. By the end of 2021, Southeastern Grocers (SEG), the parent company of Winn-Dixie, Bi-LO, Fresco y Más, and Harveys Supermarket, says 70% of all locations will be remodeled.

Winn-Dixie and SEG have come a long way since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018. Although Bi-LO will be phased out, the company plans to manage almost 420 locations of the other three grocery stores, Supermarket News says.

"We are incredibly proud to celebrate our newest Viera store, the most recent of our nine new Winn-Dixie stores throughout Florida," Anthony Hucker, president and CEO of Southeastern Grocers, said in a statement. "This expansion marks our continued commitment to increase our presence in our home state and to strengthen all the communities in which we serve."

Although Winn-Dixie was busy expanding last year, it caught some flack about its in-store COVID-19 safety policies, landing on the list of the worst grocery stores of 2020. Masks were not required in stores until late July 2020. However, it's also not on the top of the list in terms of sanitation and product quality—it scored a 3/5 for cleanliness, and a 2/5 for produce quality in Consumer Reports latest ratings.

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