The countdown is on for one of Palm Beach Gardens’ most familiar grocery stops. The Winn-Dixie at Gardens Park Plaza is set to shut its doors on April 19, leaving a gaping anchor hole at Military Trail and Northlake Boulevard and rattling the small shops that orbit it. Several longtime tenants say sudden rent jumps and an expiring ground lease have pushed them toward the exit. Neighbors who depend on the plaza for quick grocery runs have been telling reporters the closure feels like a gut punch to the area.
Owner points to aging lease, eyes new big box
The property owner told WPTV the site has been operating under a ground lease of more than 50 years that expires at the end of April 2026. With that clock ticking, the landlord is already in talks with national big-box retailers to take over the anchor space. According to the owner, there is strong interest even if the next tenant is not a grocery store, and roughly 90% of existing tenants have already renewed their leases. Those assurances are landing at the same time smaller storefronts around the anchor are rethinking whether they can stay put.
Winn-Dixie has called the closure a “difficult decision” and said employees at the Gardens Park Plaza location will be offered transfers to other nearby stores or severance packages, according to the Palm Beach Post. The company has framed the move as part of a strategy to support the brand’s long-term success while it reshapes its Florida footprint. Local officials say no development plans have been filed yet for the site.
Part of a bigger grocery shake-up
The Gardens Park Plaza exit is not happening in a vacuum. It is one piece of a broader reshuffling of Florida’s grocery landscape following Aldi’s 2024 purchase of Southeastern Grocers, a deal that set off a wave of store closures and conversions across the region. Industry coverage has documented numerous Winn-Dixie locations being closed, sold or rebranded as chains and landlords tweak formats and lease strategies. TheStreet has been tracking those shifts.
Small shops feel the rent squeeze
For several smaller tenants, the turning point has been a sharp reset in rent. “Unfortunately, the rent increase we couldn’t handle, and we have to, we have to go,” said Ilam Shalom, owner of Dollar Deals Plus, telling WPTV that his rent was set to jump by 80%. Shoppers interviewed at the plaza echoed his frustration, calling the store’s looming closure upsetting because it has been an easy, quick-stop option.
Uncertain future for the plaza
Property managers say they are actively marketing the roughly 50,000-square-foot anchor space and expect interest from a range of national tenants, even as most of the inline shops remain open. For now, residents will have to redirect their grocery runs to other nearby supermarkets while smaller storefronts absorb higher rents and ride out an uneasy leasing market…