Tallassee’s Winn-Dixie grocery, the last tenant of a shopping center located on Gilmer Ave., will close by the middle of next month, according to company officials.
The shopping center formerly housed the local Walmart department store, which recently relocated to a new larger, stand-alone store near the local National Guard armory. The new Walmart is a hybrid store, containing most, but not all, of the departments found in a Super Walmart. The expanded store includes a grocery, which Tallassee’s previous Walmart did not have.
A Dollar General store was between the Winn-Dixie and Wal-Mart stores, but that company built its own stand-alone store several years ago, across from the post office on Gilmer Avenue.
Local grocery store competition has seen several openings and closings in the last few years. Locally-owned Super Foods opened a second store in east Tallassee on the Notasulga Highway, after which the local Piggly Wiggly, located in the Hampton Square shopping center closed. The original Super Foods, located in the Tallassee Center in west Tallassee, subsequently moved from its original location to the former Piggly Wiggly location.
The Winn-Dixie grocery chain is owned by the Bi-Lo Holdings company, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. Company officials stated that in addition to the Tallassee store closure, two stores in Montgomery will also closed by Nov. 19 as a necessary part of business operations.
