FORT PIERCE \u2014 After months without a grocery store anchor, shoppers and workers at the Indrio Crossings Shopping Center on North Kings Highway are looking forward to the arrival of Aldi, which is replacing the former Winn-Dixie.<\/p>\n
While an official opening date has not been announced, many residents say the return of a grocery store is badly needed in an area that serves the surrounding neighborhoods of Lakewood Park, Fort Pierce and Vero Beach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to have a grocery store locally,\u201d said Donna Saucier of Fort Pierce. \u201cThere are about five surrounding villages here and thousands of people. We have to go all the way to Vero Beach for Publix.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like many shoppers, Saucier is eager to see the store open but expects the project could take several more months to complete.<\/p>\n
The former Winn-Dixie closed after parent company Southeastern Grocers sold hundreds of stores to Aldi as part of a nationwide acquisition. Many former Winn-Dixie locations across Florida are being converted into Aldi stores, while others have closed permanently.<\/p>\n
For employees working in the plaza, the absence of a grocery store has affected customer traffic and convenience.<\/p>\n
Brylee B., who works in the shopping center, said she frequently shopped at Winn-Dixie before it closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI liked it because I thought it was cheaper,\u201d she said. \u201cBut, I\u2019ve been hearing things about Aldi, so I\u2019m kind of excited for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the lack of a nearby grocery store has been a challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the only grocery store around here,\u201d Brylee said. \u201cIt\u2019s been very, very inconvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not everyone is enthusiastic about the change.<\/p>\n
Robin S. of Lakewood Park said she preferred Winn-Dixie\u2019s selection and expressed concerns about Aldi\u2019s product offerings after shopping at the recently opened Vero Beach location on Oslo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not really excited about Aldi coming in,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ll have to get used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robin also said she hopes the new store creates opportunities for local workers who may have lost employment when Winn-Dixie closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt did hurt the community with the loss of jobs,\u201d she said. \u201cHopefully, they hire from within the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others expressed similar concerns.<\/p>\n
Niles Shanaberger of Fort Pierce said residents had become accustomed to having Winn-Dixie nearby and are still waiting for information about Aldi\u2019s opening.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe loss of jobs \u2014 are they going to be able to get those jobs here?\u201d Shanaberger said. \u201cThat\u2019s certainly a concern.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several shoppers said they will miss specific features of Winn-Dixie, including its meat department and weekly promotions.<\/p>\n
Miranda S. of Fort Pierce said she shops at Aldi occasionally but still regrets losing the neighborhood Winn-Dixie.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you not miss Winn-Dixie?\u201d she asked enthusiastically. \u201cThey have great deals all the time. I love their bakery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite her preference for Winn-Dixie, Miranda believes Indrio Crossings will continue to attract shoppers and could see additional traffic if other businesses move into vacant storefronts.<\/p>\n
Carol S. of Vero Beach echoed those sentiments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really liked Winn-Dixie,\u201d she said. \u201cThe prices were good, the selection was good and I liked their produce and meat.\u201d<\/p>\n
As construction continues inside the former supermarket, nearby residents are watching closely and waiting for the day when grocery carts once again roll through the plaza\u2019s parking lot.<\/p>\n
No word yet from Aldi on the official opening date. Construction workers we talked with this week were tight-lipped.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT PIERCE \u2014 After months without a grocery store anchor, shoppers and workers at the Indrio Crossings Shopping…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172,563],"class_list":["post-319813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news","tag-st_lucie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}