A Century of Giving: Winn-Dixie Celebrates 100 Years with Nostalgic Prices

A Century of Groceries and Community

The year was 1925. Calvin Coolidge was in the White House. "The Great Gatsby" was fresh on the shelves. And across the South, a fledgling grocery store was beginning a journey that would turn into a legacy. That store was Winn-Dixie. This fall, the grocer celebrates its 100th anniversary. For decades, Winn-Dixie has been where families purchase their Thanksgiving turkeys, where neighbors stocked up on supplies before storms, and where Saturday morning grocery runs became ritual.

Anthony Hucker, chairman & CEO for Southeastern Grocers, Winn-Dixie’s parent company, called the anniversary a milestone shared by all who have walked its aisles. “Reaching 100 years is an extraordinary milestone that belongs to everyone who has been part of Winn-Dixie’s journey,” he said in a news release. “Our associates, our customers and the communities we call home. For generations, we’ve been a trusted part of family dinners, holiday gatherings and everyday moments that matter most. That trust is our greatest measure of success.”

Celebrating a Legacy

To honor its legacy, Winn-Dixie is offering customers a nostalgic trip back through the decades. From Sept. 3-30, shoppers will find throwback pricing on select grocery favorites, from Chek Cola to private-label staples and beloved national brands. The savings, available through the Winn-Dixie Rewards app and online, can add up to $100.

On Friday, the celebration spills into the streets at six stores across the Southeast, including Jacksonville’s Baymeadows location. In Jacksonville, racing fans also can snap photos with Mark Martin’s Winn-Dixie car from the 1992 NASCAR season. Between 4 and 6 p.m., Winn-Dixie will host free community birthday bashes complete with live music, birthday cake, giveaways and family-friendly activities. The first 100 guests who arrive at 4 p.m. at each store will receive mystery gift cards valued between $19.25 and $100.

Corporate Shifts and New Directions

It hasn't all been a straightforward path for the grocery empire, though, including shifts in control of the stores and brand. Amid this celebration lies a less nostalgic and more corporate recent history. In August 2023, the German-based discount chain Aldi announced plans to acquire Winn-Dixie and Harvey's from parent company Southeastern Grocers in a sweeping deal covering around 400 stores across five Southeastern states. The acquisition finalized in March 2024, signaling a major shift for the brand, and by August, Aldi began converting some of these supermarkets into its compact shopping model.

Conversions included Florida locations in Panama City, Deltona, Jacksonville, Lakeland and Pensacola, as part of the plan to shift around 220 stores to the Aldi model by 2027. But the transition didn’t stay permanent. In a surprise move in February, a consortium of private investors, led by Winn-Dixie CEO Anthony Hucker and longtime supplier C&S Wholesale Grocers, bought back about 170 stores, including grocery and liquor locations, returning them to regional hands. Aldi will still maintain stores already converted or in the process of undergoing changes, but the brand’s future in the Southeast will be maintained, reflecting not only market strategies but also the enduring pull of regional identity and customer loyalty.

Looking Ahead While Honoring the Past

The grocer will also mark its centennial with a $200,000 donation to fight hunger, half of which will go to Feeding America while the other half comes in the form of product donations to local food banks across the Southeast. “As we celebrate our centennial, we honor our lasting legacy of serving our neighbors with quality and value and look ahead with a renewed commitment to empowering people to feed and enrich our communities as we carry Winn-Dixie into the next century,” Hucker said.

Though the aisles may look different than they did in 1925 — with online ordering, digital coupons and home delivery now part of the experience — Winn-Dixie insists its mission remains unchanged: providing quality groceries, value for families and a sense of community connection. As the grocer steps into its second century, it does so carrying with it the echoes of a hundred years’ worth of shopping trips, Sunday dinners and storm-prep runs.