Fresco y Más Comes to Southwest Florida
Southeastern Grocers Inc. (SEG) has opened the grocer’s first Fresco y Más store in southwest Florida, located at 1145 Homestead Road North, and rolled out a renovated Winn-Dixie store, located at 61 Bell Boulevard North, at a dual ribbon-cutting ceremony in Lehigh Acres on Oct. 21. The openings illustrate SEG’s focus on investing in the banners.
“Winn-Dixie has proudly served the Lehigh Acres community for more than 30 years, and we are pleased to now be able to introduce the community to our growing Hispanic grocery store, Fresco y Más,” noted SEG President and CEO Anthony Hucker. “By listening to customer feedback and evaluating key consumer insights, we are confident that the unique offerings available at the new Lehigh Acres Fresco y Más will fully reflect the unique tastes and needs of the local community.”
Features of the Fresco y Más store include (see image gallery below):
- A custom façade featuring a vibrant yellow color palette and bilingual signage throughout the store
- A farmers’ market-inspired produce department with a wide selection of tropical fruits and vegetables
- A Wall of Value section offering weekly specials on the most-purchased items
- A Dollar Zone where customers can get hundreds of everyday essentials for just $1
- A café with an expanded seating area serving authentic Hispanic breakfast, pastries, drinks, and hot and cold sandwiches
- A “Cocina” (kitchen) offering daily specials of freshly prepared meals made from scratch
- A full-service Latin “Carnicería” (butcher shop) offering an expanded selection of fresh, custom-cut meats
- A “Panadería” (bakery) department offering an expanded selection of Hispanic pastries and local baked goods, made fresh daily, along with a wider selection of local favorites
- An in-store pharmacy with pharmacists available to answer questions regarding health and prescriptions
In addition to the opening ceremonies, the Lehigh Acres Fresco y Más will host a small community celebration on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at which social-distancing protocols will be encouraged.
As part of the grand-opening celebrations, the Lehigh Acres Fresco y Más presented a $1,000 donation to Lehigh Community Services, and Winn-Dixie donated $1,000 to Donna J. Beasley Technical Academy, a tuition-free public charter high school.
The new Lehigh Acres Fresco y Más is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week, while the Bell Boulevard Winn-Dixie is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Since it began in 2016, Fresco y Más has grown to 27 stores in Florida. Founded in 1925, Winn-Dixie grocery stores, liquor stores and in-store pharmacies operate throughout five southeastern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.
SEG also recently revealed in a regulatory filing its growth strategy ahead of a planned initial public offering. Elements of the strategy include new stores, increased store-brand penetration, loyalty program expansion and the continuation of an effective store remodeling program.
The banners’ parent company, Jacksonville, Florida-based Southeastern Grocers is one of the largest conventional supermarket companies in the United States, with grocery stores, liquor stores and in-store pharmacies serving communities throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. Its other banners are Bi-Lo, which it’s in the process of dissolving, and Harveys Supermarket. The company is No. 34 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
