Changing Crescent City Winn-Dixie to Aldi could spark food desert, cost dozens of jobs, mayor says
Winn-Dixie has served Crescent City for nearly three decades — since 1997 — but now, it's on a list of 170 locations being converted into Aldi outlets.
Mayor Michele Myers and the City Commission this week presented a resolution last Tuesday urging Southeast Grocers and Aldi to reconsider, saying that the closure would threaten more than 80 local jobs and risk turning Crescent City into a food desert.
'Without a full-service grocer, families here would be forced into 40-mile round trips just to buy produce and staples,' Myers said. 'We have smaller local stores, but they can't replace fresh food or the jobs this store provides.'
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Steve Cummings, dean at Crescent City High School, added that Winn-Dixie is the town's second-largest employer.
'Students and parents work here,' he said. 'Walking through those doors feels like coming home.'
The resolution will be sent to both Southeast Grocers and Aldi.
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The mayor said she hasn't reached out to state officials just yet.
There is still time before the companies move forward with the planned conversion.
Crescent City officials hope a show of community unity will persuade corporate leaders to keep their decades-old anchor store open.
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