Southeastern Grocers Inc. President and CEO Anthony Hucker says the Dec. 14 opening of the company’s new Winn-Dixie in the Grand Cypress center in St. Johns County and the 2023 reopening in College Park in Jacksonville all are “part of our platform for growth.”
Hucker said Nov. 14 that the Grand Cypress opening reflects “the economic growth we are investing in our hometown here in Jacksonville.”
He declined to say how much Jacksonville-based Southeastern Grocers invested in the store at Grand Cypress. He said it will open at 8 a.m. Dec. 14.
Developer Gatlin Development Co. and real estate firm Cantrell & Morgan are leasing out the Winn-Dixie-anchored Grand Cypress shopping center near Nocatee at southwest U.S. 1 and Race Track Road.
Winn-Dixie intends to open a 41,500-square-foot grocery store and a separate 2,000-square-foot liquor store to anchor the retail project.
St. Johns County issued a permit in October 2021 for J. Raymond Construction Corp. of Longwood to build the 43,613-square-foot Winn-Dixie grocery store and liquor store at a construction cost of $4.375 million at 100 Little Cypress Drive in Saint Johns.
The College Park store in the former Town & Country Shopping Center is expected to open in summer 2023, the company said.
A Jacksonville building-permit application shows ShayCore LLC will renovate the 43,615-square-foot space at 999 University Blvd. N. at a cost of $3.84 million.
Winn-Dixie will lease 48,738 square feet of space where Southeastern Grocers said it opened in 1997 and closed in 2006.
Winn-Dixie said it will create more than 100 jobs there.
Hucker said it will “serve as an anchor for the revitalization efforts in the Arlington area.”
He said a third store will open in the Apopka City Center near Orlando.
Hucker declined to say for competitive reasons how much Southeastern Grocers invested in each location but that “every new store runs into the millions.”
He said each store design will reflect the community it serves.
He said Southeastern Grocers is building a liquor store at the Grand Cypress Winn-Dixie “for added convenience.”
He said Southeastern Grocers will expand its departments, add self-checkout lanes and have a “power register” in the center of the store for customer service.
He said there will be new products and innovations of the Southeastern Grocers house brand as well as an evolving loyalty card.
Winn-Dixie also will offer delivery from the Grand Cypress store within a two-hour window through the rewards app or the website with the same savings and deals as those in the store.
Hucker said the delivery territory is based on the trade area, and each is specific to the store.
Southeastern Grocers Inc. is the parent company of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie grocery stores. It operates in the five Southeastern states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Hucker acknowledges that inflation has been affecting food costs and consumer spending.
“We’ve been working on the inflationary pressures for the entire year and we put the customers at the center of every decision we make and hold any costs increases we can,” Hucker said.
“We believe we are the most competitive in the marketplace.”
Hucker said the supply chain challenges that surfaced during the pandemic are lessening.
“The supply chain is bending but is not broken,” he said.
He said Southeastern Grocers constantly strives to improve its product availability with prices approved by customers.
