ACTION 8 UPDATE: Winn-Dixie stores in Montgomery, Wetumpka to become Piggly Wiggly

We don’t yet know when the switch to Piggly Wiggly Food For Less will happen, but Winn-Dixie said last week that it hoped to have all of its remaining 32 Winn-Dixie and Harvey’s locations in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and most of Georgia sold to new owners by early next year. It plans to keep stores in extreme South Georgia, near its home base of Jacksonville, Florida.

The Winn-Dixie in Prattville has already been announced as a Piggly Wiggly.

There are more than 600 Piggly Wiggly stores nationwide, which are independently owned and operated. The Piggly Wiggly Food For Less concept sells groceries at cost, adding 10% at the cash register, according to its website. Those stores can be found in Panama City, Tallahassee and other parts of north Florida as well as Albany and other parts of southwest Georgia.

A sale of stores in Millbrook and Opelika is still pending. The store in Eufaula will become a Renfroe’s Market.

Winn-Dixie, which turned 100 years old this year, has had a longtime presence in our part of the state, though the number of stores has dwindled over the past 20 years.

Earlier this year, some stores, including in Selma and Auburn, became Aldi locations after that company bought Winn-Dixie stores from its parent company, Southeastern Grocers. A former Winn-Dixie at Carter Hill Road at Narrow Lane Road in Montgomery is undergoing renovations to become an Aldi.

Later, A group including supply chain partner C&S Wholesale Grocers and private investors led by Southeastern Grocers CEO and President Anthony Hucker bought 170 stores back from Aldi. Once the sales are complete, the newly-named Winn Dixie Company will have about 130 grocery stores and 140 liquor stores.