Acquisition marks Food City’s debut in Birmingham market
Food City buys three Winn-Dixies in Alabama
Acquisition marks Food City’s debut in Birmingham market
October 10, 2025
The stores, located in Fultondale, Trussville and Jasper, are slated to be converted to Food City in early November.Shutterstock
Food City has agreed to acquire three Winn-Dixie supermarkets in the Birmingham, Ala., area, and plans to convert them to its core Food City banner.
The stores, located in Fultondale, Trussville and Jasper, are slated to be converted to Food City in early November following the finalization of the sale, the companies said.
Food City, owned by Abingdon, Va.-based K-VA-T Food Stores, currently operates seven stores in Alabama, but the three new locations will be its first in the Birmingham market. It has stores in the Alabama towns of Albertville, Gadsden, Fort Payne and Owens Cross Roads, and three locations in Huntsville, according to its website.
“We’re excited to have the opportunity to expand our operations into these new Alabama market areas,” said Steven Smith, president and CEO of Food City, in a statement provided to Supermarket News. “We will continue to make significant investments in the locations over the coming months to meet the needs of our customers and ensure the future success of our new teammates.”
Food City said it plans to hire the majority of the employees at the acquired locations. The stores, which each measure about 44,000 square feet, will continue to offer a service meat department and in-store bakery and deli, Food City said.
This is not the first time K-VA-T has acquired Winn-Dixie stores. The Abingdon, Va.-based retailer had bought seven Winn-Dixie locations in the Knoxville, Tenn., market in 1999, marking Winn-Dixie’s exit from that area.
Other Winn-Dixie closures in Alabama
The sale of the stores follows a handful of other Winn-Dixie store closures in Alabama earlier this year as its parent company, Southeastern Grocers, continues to focus on reviving its core group of Winn-Dixie and Harvey’s locations. The previous closures included two in Mobile and one each in Phenix City and Vestavia Hills, the latter of which is another suburb of Birmingham.
“This decision is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure the long-term growth and sustainability of our business and allows us to accelerate reinvestment into innovation and the renewal of our store fleet,” a Southeastern Grocers spokesperson said in a statement.
Meanwhile Southeastern Grocers continues to operate several Winn-Dixie locations on a temporary basis that it has sold to Aldi, as Aldi gradually converts those stores to its own banner. As previously reported, Southeastern Grocers reacquired about 170 stores back from Aldi earlier this year after selling them to Aldi last year.
https://www.supermarketnews.com/mergers-acquisitions/food-city-buys-three-winn-dixies-in-alabama
