Winn-Dixie confirms it’s closing supermarket in Columbus

The Winn-Dixie store at 1100 Hunt Ave., off Buena Vista Road, in Columbus, is preparing to close its doors.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Southeastern Grocers, which owns the supermarket chain, confirmed Tuesday the grocery store that has been open at that location for years should be gone by June.

“This decision was not made lightly,” Drew Elkins, a regional vice president with Winn-Dixie, said in a statement. “Our associates are always the first to know of any changes at our stores and have been made aware of the closure and are encouraged to apply for open positions we have in our network of neighboring Winn-Dixie stores.

The Columbus store is not alone. A few media outlets have been reporting in recent days that some Winn-Dixie stores are being closed as well in Florida and Mississippi.

The Winn-Dixie on Hunt Avenue in Columbus has been the sole anchor in a small strip shopping center since Walmart closed its discount store at the center, opening a Walmart Neighborhood Market a short distance away. The mega-retailer also opened a Walmart Supercenter on Victory Drive.

Winn-Dixie has downsized occasionally in the local market, having shuttered the Winn-Dixie location in Phenix City many years ago. It closed the location on South Lumpkin Road in 2014.

After the Hunt Avenue closure, Winn-Dixie will have four stores in the local market. The others are on Veterans Parkway, Milgen Road and Macon Road in Columbus, with one on U.S. Highway 80 in the Ladonia area of Phenix City. The chain’s primary competition here includes Publix, Piggly-Wiggly and Walmart.

“Until the store closes, we will work hard to continue delivering the great service and value our customers have come to expect,” Elkins said in his statement of the Hunt Avenue store that will soon be no more.

This story was originally published May 2, 2017 at 7:23 PM with the headline "Winn-Dixie confirms it’s closing supermarket in Columbus."