Winn-Dixie to close Henderson store


Winn-Dixie Stores made some sad news official Tuesday: The venerable Southern grocery store chain is leaving Henderson.

The store in the Dabney West Shopping Center at 1520 Dabney Drive is on the list of 326 locations Winn-Dixie will sell or close in an effort to create a smaller, more profitable company. All 24 stores organized under the Raleigh-Durham “designated marketing area” for Winn-Dixie are closing, along with the other 56 Winn-Dixie locations in North Carolina and a Charlotte distribution center.

Those stores had survived a round of store closings announced in April 2004.

In all, Winn-Dixie is pulling out of four states entirely: North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina and Tennessee. The chain also is pulling out of entire markets in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and, most dramatically, Georgia, where the company is abandoning its Atlanta, Augusta and Savannah marketing areas.

Winn-Dixie expects to cut 28 percent of its work force, or 22,000 jobs, and be left with a chain of 587 stores along the Gulf Coast and in the Bahamas.

“Creating a smaller but more profitable store base will best position Winn-Dixie for long-term financial health and a successful future,” Peter Lynch, the company’s president and chief executive officer, said in a news release. “We will be focusing our resources on markets where Winn-Dixie has a strong presence and there are compelling opportunities. … The steps announced today will help us to continue our progress as we strive to make Winn-Dixie a stronger company, better able to compete in the marketplace with a strong foundation for the future.”

Winn-Dixie’s announcement did not reveal a timetable for closing or selling its stores, so it’s unknown how long the Henderson store and its employees have.

“Our hope is to sell as many of our affected stores … as possible to new owners who will continue to operate them,” Lynch said. “We are asking potential new owners to offer employment opportunities to our associates.”

Winn-Dixie will offer severance and other assistance to employees who lose their jobs.

The Henderson store is in a crowded area for supermarkets. It is basically across Beckford Drive from Lowe’s Foods at the Marketplace Shopping Center, which itself is basically across Dabney Drive from Food Lion at Henderson Mall. And the grocery inside the Wal-Mart Supercenter is about a mile away on North Cooper Drive.

Winn-Dixie’s departure could provide an opening for another grocery chain to move into the market and try to take advantage of a location close to Interstate 85, just as New York-based Compare Foods entered the market by taking over the former Lowe’s Foods site on East Andrews Avenue not far from U.S. 1 Bypass. The nearest Kroger stores, for example, are in north Raleigh, and the nearest Harris Teeter is in Wake Forest.

“We regret the impact these tough decisions will have on many of our associates, customers and local communities,” Lynch said. “We do not take these decisions lightly and would not be proceeding if these steps were not essential to restore Winn-Dixie’s financial health. We are committed to doing what we can to help minimize the impact, including, wherever possible, attempting to find new owners.”