{"id":387727,"date":"2026-09-02T00:48:51","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T00:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/387727\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T00:48:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T00:48:51","slug":"winn-dixie-is-gone-what-does-aldis-arrival-mean-for-liberty-city-local-news-updates-the-miami-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/387727\/","title":{"rendered":"Winn-Dixie is gone. What does ALDI\u2019s arrival mean for Liberty City? | Local News & Updates | The Miami Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

In January 2026, 17-year-old Christian Wallace landed his first job at the Winn-Dixie on Northwest 11th Avenue and 54th Street in Liberty City. Resident Tromain Parker would frequent that same location, shopping for groceries or using its banking services to buy and send money orders.<\/p>\n

North Allapattah resident Kenemo Williams says he used to visit that Winn-Dixie store nearly every day. And for Daniella Pierre, it\u2019s where she knew to head to if she ever ran out of Crystal Hot Sauce, her favorite.<\/p>\n

Now, the store\u2019s doors are shuttered, its large parking lot mostly empty.<\/p>\n

\"Liberty<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Winn-Dixie at 1150 NW 54th St. is closed down as of August 2026.<\/p>\n

(Samantha Morell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

The longtime Liberty City grocer officially closed down last month. Its fate? To be converted into an ALDI, the supermarket chain that bought out Winn-Dixie\u2019s parent company, Southeastern Grocers, in March 2024.<\/p>\n

Two other Winn-Dixie locations \u2013 one at 11030 NW 7th Ave. in Pinewood and another at 1155 NW 11th St. in Overtown \u2013 have also shut down and are now awaiting conversions. All three are expected to open in early 2027, according to Chris Hewitt, regional vice president at ALDI.<\/p>\n

\"Winn-Dixie<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Winn-Dixie at 1155 NW 11th St. in Overtown is closed down and boarded up.<\/p>\n

(Samantha Morell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

Other locations in Opa-locka, Miami Gardens and Doral will remain under the Winn-Dixie brand.<\/p>\n

The loss at 1150 NW 54th St. is leaving a gap in the community, residents say, with many labeling Liberty City a food desert. Members of the predominantly Black and low-income neighborhood say they\u2019ve been forced to choose between limited alternatives for groceries, often traveling outside of their area for quality food options and all the while wondering whether the new ALDI will provide meaningful relief when built.<\/p>\n

More than a grocer<\/p>\n

For many, Winn-Dixie was a one-stop shop for groceries, pharmacy pick-ups and banking services. It was also a place of gathering and a cultural institution.<\/p>\n

\"Daniella<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Daniella Pierre stands in front of the home she grew up in, wearing her pink Winn-Dixie uniform.<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Daniella Pierre)<\/p>\n

\u201cWinn-Dixie was more than the grocery store,\u201d said Pierre, a Liberty City resident and president of the Miami-Dade NAACP. \u201cYou were able to connect there, to catch up on the latest gossip. You could find something out at Winn-Dixie. Seafood boils? That started at Winn-Dixie.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Winn-Dixie Deli also offered hot meals, ready to be eaten.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who are unfortunately unhoused, that was how they would eat a balanced meal, \u2018cause there was hot kitchen food right there,\u201d Pierre added.<\/p>\n

\"Christian<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Christian Wallace, 17, began his first job at Winn-Dixie in January 2026.<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Satin Fye)<\/p>\n

Satin Fye, Wallace\u2019s mother, noted how the grocer was also a steady employer of young men in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like [the store manager] was almost getting a lot of the young people off of the street and giving them something productive to do,\u201d Fye said. \u201cSo the social part of it for our community is such a great loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Daniella<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Daniella Pierre stands in front of the shuttered Winn-Dixie store in Liberty City.<\/p>\n

(Samantha Morell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

Pierre can speak firsthand to Winn-Dixie\u2019s value as a launching point for a successful career, having \u2013 like Wallace \u2013 landed her first job there, at the former location on East 10th Avenue and 12th Street, now a Fresco y M\u00e1s.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at me. I started as a cashier, and I\u2019m working on my doctorate,\u201d Pierre said.<\/p>\n

Where\u2019s left to go?<\/p>\n

\"Fye<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Satin Fye and her son Christian Wallace.<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Satin Fye)<\/p>\n

For customers, figuring out where to shop has \u201cbeen a cluster,\u201d as Fye describes it. Her house is just a three-minute drive from the Liberty City Winn-Dixie location. Now, that convenience is gone.<\/p>\n

She said she\u2019s been shopping at the Publix on Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 48th Terrace as an alternative, if not skipping the commute altogether and resorting to using Instacart, which upcharges for food and has service and delivery fees. Other residents reported going to the Walmart on Northwest 32nd Avenue and 79th Street, about a 20-minute drive with traffic.<\/p>\n

Fye said she\u2019s heard from neighbors who now have to take two buses just to get to the grocery store.<\/p>\n

\"Fye<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Satin Fye, a union leader and Liberty City resident.<\/p>\n

(Samantha Morell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

City of Miami Commissioner Christine King, who represents District 5, told The Miami Times that she\u2019s already spoken with the Resilience and Public Works Department to help transport seniors and other residents to their desired grocery store within five miles of city limits. That includes the ALDI at 1290 NE 108th St. and the Walmart, King said.<\/p>\n

Within Liberty City, there\u2019s a Presidente Marketplace on Northwest Sixth Avenue and 62nd Street. Just last month, however, that location was reported as having numerous health code violations, including old food, according to the Miami Herald<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The old versus the new<\/p>\n

Even with ALDI slated to take over the closed Winn-Dixie locations, residents are wary that the switch won\u2019t act as a one-to-one replacement.<\/p>\n

ALDI does not offer the same resources that Winn-Dixie did, including a pharmacy, banking services or ready-made food. It also doesn\u2019t accept WIC, a federal assistance program that provides healthy foods to pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age five.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Winn-Dixie] was a place where they still accepted checks for seniors who still used checks,\u201d Pierre said. \u201cIt was a place for everyone, whether you had cash, checks, coins, even WIC \u2013 they still would take you. And we don\u2019t know to this date whether ALDI will be able to sustain those services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about the discrepancies between the two grocers, Hewitt said ALDI has a \u201cdifferent operating model, focused on providing fresh groceries, everyday essentials and consistently low prices that help customers stretch their budgets further.\u201d According to its website, ALDI accepts \u201ccash, most debit cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), SNAP, Link cards and contactless pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

ALDI is also known for charging for grocery bags and requiring its guests to deposit 25 cents to access a grocery cart \u2013 obstacles that residents believe will prove to be burdensome for the community.<\/p>\n

\"ALDI\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The closed Winn-Dixie store in Overtown displays a sign advertising the ALDI to come.<\/p>\n

(Samantha Morell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

Hewitt notes that the 25 cents are returned at the end of the visit, and that \u201canyone who doesn\u2019t have one can ask an ALDI employee to borrow a quarter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShoppers are welcome to bring bags they already have from home or purchase bags at checkout,\u201d he added. \u201cThese practices help us reduce operating costs and waste so we can keep grocery prices low.\u201d<\/p>\n

But beyond the differences, customers appreciated Winn-Dixie simply because it\u2019s what they were used to.<\/p>\n

\u201cWinn-Dixie has been around for hundreds of years, you know? We all know the beef people. We grew up with that,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

Ronald Frazier, a trailblazing architect, urban planner and founding member of the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce, recalls the effort to bring Winn-Dixie back into the community after it was vandalized during the 1980 Arthur McDuffie riots.<\/p>\n

\"Fye,<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(L-R) Satin Fye, Ronald Frazier and Daniella Pierre.<\/p>\n

(Samantha Morell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

He described how the late Otis Pitts Jr., founder of the Tacolcy Economic Development Corporation, developed Edison Plaza on Northwest 62nd Street and Seventh Avenue, the only shopping center in Liberty City, which included Winn-Dixie. Frazier, chairman and CEO of the BAC Funding Corporation, helped fund the redevelopment after the riot.<\/p>\n

A few years later, the grocer moved to its location on 54th Street.<\/p>\n

\u201cWinn-Dixie was a mainstay grocery store in this particular area,\u201d Frazier said. \u201cThis was Winn-Dixie\u2019s territory, so they had to know the market because they had been here for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ronald<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ronald Frazier stands in front of the shuttered Winn-Dixie store in Liberty City.<\/p>\n

(Samantha Morell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

A call to ALDI<\/p>\n

Several residents worry ALDI won\u2019t provide products that are culturally sensitive to the community, especially for seniors, Williams said, whom he describes as \u201ccreatures of habit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying we can\u2019t evolve,\u201d said Pierre. \u201cI\u2019m just saying we\u2019re used to different types of products. We got a certain type of flavor that we want in our community, and that\u2019s important to us. That\u2019s very important.\u201d<\/p>\n

With concerns circling, residents are calling on ALDI to survey the community it plans to one day call home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to make sure that the residents, the people, have a say in the products that are there,\u201d Pierre said. \u201cIf that means ALDI needs to partner with our small, local Black-owned businesses to make certain that the products are there, let\u2019s do that. And I think we can do that \u2026 Let\u2019s be intentional with what\u2019s going to be on those shelves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Frazier<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ronald Frazier, an architect, urban planner, founding member of the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce and chairman and CEO of the BAC Funding Corporation.<\/p>\n

(Samantha Morell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

Fye is calling for a town hall with the new grocer. Otherwise, she predicts \u201ca silent boycott, if not an out-loud one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we didn\u2019t ask for this, and no one came and spoke to us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Though not agreeing to a town hall, Hewitt said customer feedback is welcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continually evaluate our assortment based on customer demand and feedback and welcome input from Miami shoppers about the products and grocery staples that are important to them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

King later committed to trying to facilitate a conversation to see \u201cwhat kind of community partner [ALDI is] going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deeper problem<\/p>\n

\"Pierre\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Daniella Pierre, president of the Miami-Dade NAACP.<\/p>\n

(Samantha Morell for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

The closure of Winn-Dixie has raised a deeper concern in Liberty City, an area long deemed a food desert.<\/p>\n

Residents left comments under a Miami-Dade NAACP Facebook post<\/a> regarding the Winn-Dixie closure, noting the lack of grocers located directly within their community.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou go in South Miami, Coral Gables, or any predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods and every two miles there is a Whole Foods, Publix, Milams, etc. But they take the one credible store that we have in our communities,\u201d wrote Crystal Nicole.<\/p>\n

“Someone needs to contact Publix and they need to open grocery stores. Why are there no stores in the black neighborhoods?\u201d wrote Lanette R. Jones, sharing a map of four Publix locations near Liberty City\u2019s borders but none within.<\/p>\n

Pierre said the community is faced with only two options: eat potentially old or unsafe food, or travel longer distances outside of the neighborhood for healthier alternatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially in Liberty City, it\u2019s only certain grocery stores that were able to provide those fresh, quality products for us, because we are a community that is saturated with corner stores,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd those corner stores, they serve a purpose for some, but they don\u2019t have the fresh, quality foods that bring wellness to all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pierre hopes any conversations that result from the Winn-Dixie closure also address the wider issue of food access in Liberty City.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can not continue to have our community suffer and go without grocers that put products that are healthy and high-quality for all people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In January 2026, 17-year-old Christian Wallace landed his first job at the Winn-Dixie on Northwest 11th Avenue and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387728,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[5289,155230,155244,155240,155237,155235,67483,155243,155236,36682,225,227,226,41806,155231,40026,155228,155241,155238,155234,155239,155232,155226,5290,155233,155227,155242,155229],"class_list":["post-387727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-aldi","tag-aldi-liberty-city","tag-aldi-plans-for-former-liberty-city-winn-dixie","tag-aldi-replacing-winn-dixie-in-liberty-city","tag-aldi-winn-dixie-conversion","tag-black-neighborhoods-grocery-stores","tag-food-desert","tag-grocery-access-in-miami-black-communities","tag-grocery-store-closures-miami","tag-grocery-stores","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news","tag-liberty-city","tag-liberty-city-food-desert","tag-liberty-city-grocery-access","tag-liberty-city-grocery-store","tag-liberty-city-residents-concerned-about-aldi","tag-liberty-city-winn-dixie-closure","tag-miami-food-access","tag-miami-grocery-store-alternatives","tag-miami-grocery-store-closure","tag-miami-grocery-stores","tag-winn-dixie","tag-winn-dixie-aldi-conversion","tag-winn-dixie-closure","tag-winn-dixie-closure-creates-food-desert","tag-winn-dixie-miami"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387727","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=387727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}