{"id":315416,"date":"2026-06-22T10:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T10:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/315416\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T10:00:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T10:00:16","slug":"brentwood-area-winn-dixie-finalizes-conversion-marking-end-to-city-incentives-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/315416\/","title":{"rendered":"Brentwood-area Winn-Dixie finalizes conversion, marking end to city incentives debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marking the culmination of a fight over a Brentwood-area grocery store and $12 million in incentives for The Winn-Dixie Company LLC, officials from the grocer and the city of Jacksonville celebrated the opening of a new Winn-Dixie store at 201 W. 48th St on June 20.<\/p>\n

The store, which was converted from a Harveys Supermarket, was originally set for closure. As Jacksonville City Council members debated awarding Winn-Dixie $12 million in incentives to maintain the company\u2019s headquarters in Jacksonville, the company committed to keeping the Brentwood location open.<\/p>\n

\u2018Today is really about our people, and from the moment that I walked into this store we began this transformation,\u201d said Greg Stanford, Winn-Dixie\u2019s North Florida regional vice president. \u201cIt took a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication to get to the point where we\u2019re at today, and I think they\u2019re the ones who\u2019ll be very proud of what you see throughout the store today, as we celebrate this morning with our associates and customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacksonville City Council member Ju\u2019Coby Pittman, whose District 10 includes the store, attended the opening.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"At<\/p>\n

At its store at 201 W. 48th St., Winn-Dixie said it retained 28 staff members from the store’s previous brand, Harveys Supermarket, and hired 55 more employees from two hiring events.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Winn-Dixie<\/p>\n

On May 12, Council granted a $5.5 million Recapture Enhanced Value Grant and a $6.5 million Headquarters Retention Grant for Winn-Dixie to stay in its offices at 5050 Edgewood Court in West Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

According to legislation containing the incentives, Ordinance 2026-0326, they include a 20-year, 50% REV Grant, which is a refund on ad valorem tax revenue generated by a new development or property enhancement. It can apply to real property and tangible personal property. The Headquarters Retention Grant would be paid at $1.3 million annually, beginning in October 2027.<\/p>\n

With an amendment to the legislation brokered by Council Vice President Nick Howland, Winn-Dixie agreed to come back to the Council Finance Committee 18 months before its lease on the 48th Street store ends in February 2029 to provide an update on any efforts to stay in the area. Additionally, should Winn-Dixie fail to see out the lease, it would pay back the Headquarters Retention Grant approved by Council.<\/p>\n

Construction on the store finished on June 12, and the Winn-Dixie sign on the front of the store went up about one week before that, Stanford said. Winn-Dixie retained 28 staff members from its Harveys-branded store, and hired 55 more employees from two hiring events.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Winn-Dixie officials said that during the store\u2019s conversion from the Harveys to Winn-Dixie brand, they also made upgrades to the produce, bakery, meat, seafood, floral and deli sections. The store also added a \u201ccommunity room,\u201d complete with free produce, packaged goods and board games.<\/p>\n

\"Jacksonville<\/p>\n

Jacksonville City Council member Ju’Coby Pittman, whose District 10 includes the Winn-Dixie store at 201 W. 48th St., attends an opening of the store on June 20.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Winn-Dixie<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our missions is to become authentic and local, and this store will help us to define that, and we work together to enhance the experience day after day,\u201d said Adam Kirk, Winn-Dixie\u2019s chief of store operations. \u201cAs part of that, we listen really loudly to everything that\u2019s being said about the old store, about what we hear more broadly in Winn-Dixie stores, about what our customers are looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n

City incentives<\/p>\n

A memo from the city\u2019s Office of Economic Development states that Winn-Dixie, in restructuring its corporate operations, is considering a $65 million capital investment and an addition of 200 jobs in its headquarters.<\/p>\n

The new jobs would pay an average wage of at least $100,000 and would bring the company\u2019s headquarters workforce to 700 full-time employees, the memo says. An amendment approved by Council requires Winn-Dixie to add 15 jobs by Dec. 31, 2027, and an additional 25 in 2028, 75 in 2029, 40 in 2030 and 45 in 2031.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additionally, as with all other Winn-Dixie stores in economically distressed areas, should Winn-Dixie close the Brentwood-area store, it would have 18 months to open another store in the area.<\/p>\n

\"On<\/p>\n

On a 16-2 vote on May 12, Jacksonville City Council approved up to $12 million in financial incentives for The Winn-Dixie Company LLC to keep its company headquarters in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

Under the legislation, Winn-Dixie would be required to operate at least 13 stores under the Winn-Dixie name in Jacksonville. The company currently operates 12 grocery stores in the city.<\/p>\n

In response to a question from the Finance Committee, Director of Economic Development Ed Randolph said the stores are located throughout Jacksonville and include Harveys Supermarkets being converted to the Winn-Dixie brand.<\/p>\n

A memo from the Office of Economic Development said the public assistance would generate $1.04 in return for every $1 of incentives.<\/p>\n

Winn-Dixie\u2019s history<\/p>\n

Winn-Dixie returned to the Edgewood Court headquarters in late 2025 after its ancestral company operated there from the early 1950s until 2016, when as Southeastern Grocers it moved to the Baymeadows area. On April 7, the city issued permits to put up signs on the Westside building.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the company\u2019s years at the Baymeadows headquarters, it leased space at Edgewood Court for IT functions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

In 1955, the Winn & Lovett grocery changed its name to Winn-Dixie Stores Inc.<\/p>\n

Winn-Dixie<\/p>\n

Winn-Dixie has evolved over the years through name, ownership and location changes. Since construction began in 1952, the headquarters campus in West Jacksonville has been bought and sold several times. The company is now owned by an investor group with plans to focus on Florida and South Georgia markets.<\/p>\n

Previously named Southeastern Grocers, the company completed a deal in March 2024 to sell its primary banners Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket to German grocer Aldi. Aldi bought about 400 stores from Southeastern Grocers to convert to its discount concept.<\/p>\n

In February 2025, a consortium of private investors led by Southeastern Grocers Inc. CEO Anthony Hucker and supplier C&S Wholesale Grocers acquired SEG and 170 remaining Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores to continue the banners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new owners registered The Winn-Dixie Company LLC with the state Division of Corporations on Feb. 5, 2026.<\/p>\n

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