by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The Market Street Winn-Dixie has completed the transformation from eye sore to eye candy.
Winn-Dixie President and CEO Peter Lynch made a promise about a year ago to create a great store for Downtown customers and he feels that his company has lived up to that obligation.
“I’m very pleased with how this turned out,” said Lynch. “We made a commitment and kept our promise. I really think this will help revitalize this side of the city.”
The company surveyed its customers to find out what they wanted in their store before they laid out the new floor plan. The store is filled with items requested by customers.
The store was expanded by about 2,500 feet to accommodate bigger floral, produce, bakery, deli, meat and seafood sections. A new wine section was also installed. The improvements were celebrated with a reopening ceremony Wednesday, even though the store never closed during the renovation.
“I am Delighted to see that this community is going to have this wonderful resource,” said Mayor John Peyton. “It’s great to see a Jacksonville company reinvest in its community.”
Winn-Dixie’s corporate offices are located in Jacksonville.
The company’s investment didn’t stop with store improvements. Lynch handed out two checks worth $25,000 each to charities Guardian of Dreams, dedicated to the education of children in Jacksonville, and Community Connections, a non-profit helping people in need.
Customers had another need met when Sheriff John Rutherford was given the key to the Police Stop Station located in the front of Winn-Dixie.
“Community is all about relationships and I have had a long relationship with Winn-Dixie,” said Rutherford. “My first job was bagging groceries at store 129 on 103rd Street.”
Both the Sheriff’s Office and Winn-Dixie feel the relationship will help provide a safe shopping environment for shoppers.
“Saving and safety is another good relationship,” said Rutherford.
Lynch continued to strengthen Winn-Dixie’s relationship with the Downtown community by assuring the crowd who gathered to sample food from various departments in the store that the renovations were only the beginning.
“The new store is nice, but our work is not finished,” said Lynch. “Another promise is that this store will look as good a year from now as it does right now. I think we have the people in place to make that happen.”
356-2466
photos by Joe Wilhelm Jr.