Winn-Dixie unveiled its newly remodeled Ponte Vedra store and WDs Taproom during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 8. It was followed on Friday, Sept. 10, and Sunday, Sept. 12, by community celebrations with entertainment and giveaways.
The concept of the store’s remodeling is to provide an enhanced shopping experience. A big part of that is the addition of WDs Taproom, which offers customers a variety of beer and wines to sip as they shop.
“You have the ability to come in and have a beer or have a wine and walk the store and sip and shop and enjoy yourself,” said Winn-Dixie Regional Vice President Shawn Sloan, “basically slow down a little bit and kind of enjoy the shopping experience.”
He said customer shopping trends are changing.
“They’re looking for newer and unique environments,” he said.
So far, eight Winn-Dixie stores have added taprooms.
A few of the store’s enhancements include: an updated farm-fresh produce department, an expanded deli with café-style seating, an expanded full-service seafood department, an expanded selection of international wines, a new sand-and-surf section and an in-store pharmacy. Several other areas have been upgraded, as well.
“Making sure the deli, the bakery, the produce, the meat department and even the new seafood open-air case really bring freshness to life in the store was a big deal,” Sloan said.
Ideas for these enhancements came from customers themselves.
“They told us, obviously, in this area that wines are very important to this community, organics are important to this community and service and variety are very important to this area,” Sloan said.
To mark the occasion, the store presented a $1,000 donation to PVPV Rawlings Elementary School to support the teachers, staff and school programs.
The Ponte Vedra Winn-Dixie store is located at 290 Solana Road.