Tallahassee's only Winn-Dixie will likely retain brand despite planned sale to Aldi chain

The capital's only Winn-Dixie, located on South Magnolia Drive, is unlikely to be converted to an Aldi supermarket.

Here's what we know: Aldi last year announced plans to buy Winn-Dixie's corporate owner, Southeastern Grocers. That deal is expected to close in the first half of this year. 

A Southeastern Grocers representative said in an email Tuesday to the Democrat that the company "cannot speculate on another company’s plans or forward-looking strategies, we understand that Aldi does not intend to convert all of our stores." A request for comment is pending with an Aldi spokesperson.

But Aldi already has two locations in Tallahassee, one on Pensacola Street and another on Apalachee Parkway. And conversions are only for those areas without an existing Aldi, according to Winn-Dixie employees, who asked not to be named. They said they've been told their store is staying open as a Winn-Dixie.

Other Winn-Dixies are in Monticello, Quincy and Crawfordville, an online store locator shows. Plans for those locations are unknown. But the Harveys supermarket in Havana is excluded from any conversion, Tallahassee employees said. Harveys also is owned by Southeastern Grocers.

The sale to Aldi involves Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores mostly in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. The German-based grocery chain's long-term growth strategy includes plans to add 120 new stores nationwide to reach a total of more than 2,400 locations by the end of the year.

Kyla Sanford covers dining and entertainment for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can reached at ksanford@tallahassee.com.