Englewood East Winn-Dixie will be an Aldi

ENGLEWOOD — Englewood will be losing one of its two Winn-Dixie stores, but it will gain its first Aldi.

Architects contracted with the Germany-based Aldi company filed paperwork this week with Charlotte County planning officials showing a complete renovation of the Winn-Dixie store at McCall Road and Sunnybrook Boulevard and conversion to a much-smaller Aldi.

According to the plans, the Aldi will be about half the size of the current Winn-Dixie store, which is 51,000 square feet.

The other side of the current grocery store will be left open, presumably for another tenant.

The plans don’t show changes for the Winn-Dixie Liquor & Spirits store, which is attached to the building.

The Aldi company finalized the purchase of 400 Winn-Dixie and Harvey Supermarket stores in March from Southeastern Grocers.

“Aldi has a strong track record of opening and remodeling stores across the country each year, so we’re confident we can make this a smooth transition. In the early days, there won’t be any immediate changes and Aldi will remain focused on doing what we do best: delivering great products at the lowest possible prices,” Aldi CEO Jason Hart in March at the time of the purchase.

There are two Winn-Dixie stores in the Englewood area: The one converting to Aldi at 4100 McCall Road, and the location at Palm Plaza, 1951 S. McCall Road.

There are also two Winn-Dixie stores in Port Charlotte and two in Venice. The North Port Winn-Dixie was severely damaged during Hurricane Ian in 2022, and the company said it would not reopen the store there.

The Aldi company has not announced plans to convert any of the other Winn-Dixie stores at this time.

Aldi has its own brand stores in North Port, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, South Venice, Nokomis and Sarasota.

Interplan LLC is the architect who submitted the plans. The company is based in Altamonte Springs, Florida. The contractor on the project was listed as “to be determined.”

The plans don’t have a timetable for the start or completion of the project.

Aldi stores are known for a “no-frills” shopping experience. Prices are lower, but large, name-brand items are rare, with about 90% of products being Aldi’s private label.

Customers bag their own purchases, and most of the checkout lanes are self-checkouts. Customers often bring their own shopping bags and boxes, since there is a small charge for paper and plastic bags.

There is no deli, bakery or pharmacy in the store, and they don’t take coupons.

Shoppers are encouraged to return their shopping carts to an area near the front door by being required to pay a quarter to get one, a coin that’s refunded when the cart is brought back.

Officials for the Aldi company could not be reached for comment Friday.