First Publix, now Winn Dixie will leave Islanders only Harris Teeter for groceries starting this July

Once there were three supermarkets available to the 30,000 residents of Amelia Island, but that will all change in three months when Winn Dixie shuts down to be converted to an Aldi grocery store.

Employees of the Winn Dixie at the Amelia Plaza in Fernandina Beach were informed of the shutdown and conversion last week to take place in July.

The announcement comes on the heels of the Publix on Sadler Road closing last month for a total rebuild that won't see the supermarket reopening until the fall of 2026.

Winn Dixie store 0084 is listed on the Aldi conversion list according to MyFloridaretail.blogspot.com. Confirmation of the project leaked on social media sites when friends and family of Winn Dixie employees shared details of the announcement.

Facebook user Joe Palmer posted Friday "Winn Dixie on the island is closing for 6-8 months on July 27, an employee told me a few minutes ago. With Publix being closed for a year, good luck running out to pick out something you suddenly need. Unless you’re on the south and go to Harris Teeter."

Janice Daniel of Amelia Island Plantation wrote on NextDoor "I just called Winn-Dixie manager. He said the one in FBi s closing for 6 to 8 months and an Aldi will be there."

The Observer contacted Aldi's media relations firm Zeno Group about the announcement but have received no response via email.

Barb Gingher of Fernandina Beach reported on NextDoor "Yep the rumor is not a rumor. Talked to the area GM for Winn Dixie and he said closing July 27th and reopening as Aldis 8 months later."

Taking into account other similar conversions of existing stores, changing a Winn-Dixie to an Aldi can take three to nine months.

Here are the steps that are involved:

Renovations: Aldi undertakes renovations to match the store with its new store format, which can take two to six months, depending on the extent of work required.

That work is dependent on the Fernandina Beach Building Department's permitting and inspections requirements. Necessary city approvals and inspections potentially add time to the process.

Aldi product stocking and staff training might take a few additional weeks.

Aldi completed the acquisition of Southeastern Grocers and its Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores in March 2024. But then sold 170 of those stores a year later.

Aldi kept 220 Winn Dixie and Harveys stores that it plans to convert.

According to a USA Today article last November, Aldi is an international chain of no-frills grocery stores with no coupons and few if any big-name brand products. You pay a quarter to get a shopping cart (you get it back when you return it) and you bag your own groceries with empty boxes from the store, bags you bought there or containers from home.

The newspaper reported there is a double-your-money-back "Twice is Nice" guarantee on its store brand products and the chain regularly offers "FINDS," limited-time offers that change weekly or seasonally and other discounted deals. The company does not offer a membership program, although this April as a joke they announced a new, free, no-subscription, cardless program with 331.9 million members (i.e. the population of the United States) to get the same low prices they offer anyway.

The Aldi chain was founded by Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946 (Aldi is an abbreviated form of "Albrecht Diskont"). After the brothers got into an argument over whether the stores should sell cigarettes, in 1960 they split the company into Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd, which both operate stores internationally in different regions. U.S. stores, including the new Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores, are operated by Aldi Süd. Aldi Nord also owns Trader Joe's.