Food Lion Buys Five Winn-Dixie Stores in Georgia

The grocer will convert the Southern Georgia locations and reopen them under its own banner in mid-December.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Retail

Food Lion Buys Five Winn-Dixie Stores in Georgia

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Food Lion has agreed to purchase five Winn-Dixie stores across Southern Georgia from The Winn-Dixie Company. The stores will remain open as Winn-Dixie until the transaction closes, pending customary closing requirements.

Why it matters

The deal pushes Food Lion past its 2026 growth target, with 15 new stores expected by year's end rather than the original 10. For Georgia shoppers, it means a change of banner for five grocery locations in the southern part of the state.

Food Lion's five-store acquisition lifts its 2026 new-store total to 15, five above its original goal of 10. The company expects to hire roughly 375 associates across the five locations, though the timing of those hires beyond the mid-December reopening was not specified.

The players

Food Lion

A grocery chain headquartered in Salisbury, North Carolina, operating supermarkets across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic under its own banner.

The Winn-Dixie Company

The Jacksonville-based grocery chain that is selling the five Southern Georgia stores to Food Lion.

The details

Food Lion entered into an agreement with The Winn-Dixie Company to buy five stores in Southern Georgia, including locations in Brunswick, Folkston, Lake Park, Simons Island and Valdosta. The stores will be converted and reopened under the Food Lion name in mid-December.

2026: Food Lion's original target of 10 new stores for the year.
Mid-December 2026: Acquired stores convert and reopen as Food Lion.
End of 2026: Food Lion reaches 15 new stores.

Market Landscape

The purchase lets Food Lion expand in Southern Georgia by acquiring existing supermarkets rather than building new ones. It extends the company's growth past its own 2026 target of 10 new stores.

Shoppers at the five Southern Georgia Winn-Dixie locations will see the stores convert to Food Lion in mid-December. The change of banner may bring different products, pricing and loyalty programs once the conversion is complete.

The takeaway

For Georgia shoppers, the Winn-Dixie-to-Food Lion conversion is the practical change to watch, since store layouts, prices and programs can shift after a banner switch. Checking the reopened stores in mid-December will show what the change means locally.

What happens next

The Winn-Dixie stores will remain open under the Winn-Dixie name until the transaction closes, after which they are scheduled to convert and reopen as Food Lion in mid-December.