Golden Hour for Harveys Supermarkets: Lakeland's Harveys #1710
As a Georgian who grew up with Harveys, this just felt wrong.
Winn-Dixie #1710 (2026-)
Harveys #1710: 2017-2026
Winn-Dixie #629: 1979-2017
Eastside Village | 2630 US Highway 92 | Lakeland, FL 33801
Part one of a two-part series on this supermarket
As many of you know by now, Harveys was a beloved store for me; that is, before the grocer was driven into the ground. The cachet of the once-dominant supermarket in rural South Georgia was undoubtedly eroded during Southeastern Grocers’ tenure at the helm. Less than 10-years ago, the storied brand operated over 80 locations across Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas; however, today, the Harveys name is all but dead.
This plan seems to have been set in motion with the 2016 relaunch of the brand by then-CEO Ian McLeod, but it was shored up during a 2018 bankruptcy closure round and set in stone with 2020’s “Project Sun.” Fifteen “underperforming” stores were closed prior to the 2016 relaunch, but the company lost 39 of the original, Delhaize-operated stores between the bankruptcy and the 2020 sale back to Ahold-Delhaize, while another fifteen were closed over the last two years thanks to the ALDI charades and market exits. In the end, only two of the 71 Harveys stores acquired by BI-LO Holdings from Delhaize in 2013 survived.
Despite these closures, many of the former locations continue to operate as independent supermarkets and largely feel more like Harveys than Harveys-branded stores did in 2026. Some of the operators even went so far as to mimic Harveys’ old interior aesthetic or keep most existing pre-SEG décor in place (Like the above Food for Less store in Havana).
The Harveys story under Southeastern Grocers wasn’t solely defined by closures, though. The fruit basket turnover also included 31 “new” Harveys supermarkets consisting of eleven converted BI-LO outlets (mostly in the Carolinas) and twenty converted Winn-Dixie stores (mostly in Florida). The original Nashville, GA-based Harveys chain once had a small presence in these other states but was never designed to operate in places like Charlotte, North Carolina, or Lakeland, Florida. Let’s see why.
As I’ve stated before, I once heard that the 71 Delhaize-purchased Harveys stores were more profitable than the entire 500+ store Winn-Dixie chain at the time of the transaction. If that is true, it is still quite mind boggling – I just have nothing to support the claim other than hearsay and my own anecdotal experiences with both concepts.
At the time, Harveys focused on small, captive markets and had refined a compact store format catered to the rural South. Most new stores averaged 21,000 square feet and were the perfect size for towns like Camilla or Ocilla. Winn-Dixie, on the other hand, was running (or closing) stores that were over twice as large in towns with much more competition. Oh yeah, and most of them also happened to look like a pastel pipedream from an episode of The Golden Girls.
Following this (alleged) success, SEG decided to take the general discount theme of “The Savings Place” to the big city – and painted it school bus yellow. Ian McLeod, and other senior leaders at the time, saw Harveys as the saving grace for Winn-Dixie and BI-LO stores in many lower income areas. This sounds an awful lot like the SaveRite experiment from the prior decade, likely because many of the Floridian conversions were also one-time SaveRite stores. History was destined to repeat itself.
Zooming in on the Central Florida, I want to point out how Lakeland’s Harveys #1710 was one of only three Harveys supermarkets featured in Southeastern Grocers’ media kit. It was the store featured at the bottom of the grocer’s website homepage, to boot!
The other two stores in the kit were, oddly enough, also converted Winn-Dixie stores in Florida. Do you find it odd that no stores from the Delhaize era were included? I sure do!
Today, we will explore this out-of-place Harveys store that survived to witness the chain’s demise. Toward the end of the Harveys era, little difference could be found between the beleaguered discount grocer and a plain old Winn-Dixie. Prices weren’t great, product selections weren’t unique, and stores were ugly and tired. In spite of this, a seasoned Harveys shopper could still differentiate the lonely few original holdouts from Winn-Dixie’s red-headed stepchildren in Florida. This post will highlight some of those differences and explain why I didn’t bother seeing any of the remaining stores in Lakeland, Winter Haven, or Jacksonville.
Following the divestiture of the remaining Middle Georgia Harveys outlets last year, the brand was only left with 10 locations. Winn-Dixie decided to convert seven of the remaining Harveys stores to the WD name by May 16th while closing the remaining three. One of the three closing stores ended up converting anyway following outcry from Jacksonville citizens and a threat from the city to pull the plug on some major tax incentives.
Opening in 1979, Winn-Dixie #629 first greeted shoppers with the chance to win $100 in Winn-Dixie gift certificates or a new RCA 13-inch color TV. To put that in perspective, that gift card would be worth $458 in today’s dollars and that television screen was an inch smaller than the laptop I’m typing on today. This store replaced a much older location about 2.5 miles away in the old Lakeland Mall.
I won’t dive into too much detail, but Winn-Dixie #629 remodeled in the mid-late-1980’s while expanding the left side of the store. The supermarket remodeled again around the year 2000 while taking over an old storefront to the right. The final remodel as a Winn-Dixie came in the spring of 2008 when the store embraced Winn-Dixie’s “Getting Better All the Time” look. I feel confident you will learn more about these changes next week . . .
Now with that bit of information behind us, let’s take a look at how the store looked toward the end of last year.
As much as I am a lifelong Publix fan, my first pilgrimage to Lakeland only occurred within the last year. I, of course, had to see several notable locations on the green grocer’s home turf, but my visit wouldn’t have been complete without stopping by the town’s other green supermarket before the sun set on it.
Strangely enough, The Albertsons Florida Blogger decided to photograph the same Harveys store only three weeks after me. Photos from both of our trips will be included in this post: mine from October will feature my familiar watermark while his from November will not.
It always fascinates me to look at store expansions because it seems that no two were alike for The Beef People. Just from this shot alone, a casual onlooker would presume this Winn-Dixie opened in the mid-late 1990’s given its familiar A-frame truss accents used on new construction buildings from that era. The keen observer, however, will notice that this store has three more of those gables than normal – an odd-ball detail that one would only find at an expanded store.
At just over 52,000 square feet, this store isn’t terribly larger than the typical G4 prototype, but the combination of three different storefronts likely led to the unusual design. Despite this exterior only dating back to the circa 2000 expansion, we can still see how the 1980’s addition to the left was more seamless than the later expansion on the right.
As I approached the store, I could instantly tell that I was not in the best part of town. Shopping cart proximity locks may be an easy indicator, but the homeless man asking for money by the door was a dead giveaway.
In spite of that, the produce department was maintained well enough. Probably my biggest surprise was finding a red Winn-Dixie branded tomato cart hanging out there.
One of the first things I noticed was the produce department’s unusual flooring choice. The green vinyl under the fruit & vegetable displays was reminiscent of the previous “Marketplace Refresh” stores rather than the later post-bankruptcy remodels (which utilized faux wood). Given this supermarket’s 2008 remodel time frame, it was one of the first 50 locations to sport the “Getting Better All the Time” look and it seems that some details were still being ironed out.
In addition to the solid green flooring, I have never previously seen green tiles used for the checkerboard accents elsewhere in the store. These tiles, even in locations which opened in mid-2008, used a beige color instead.
In the three weeks between our two visits, this store sold at least 11 cases of Busch Light. Part of me wonders if we photographed some of the same cases of beer and if the store was even restocked by the distributor during that time (it likely was). It’s still crazy to see these two photos side-by-side!
Aisle one hosted water and wine (along with beer) in a triple-wide configuration spanning from the produce patch to the deli. I see that the checkerboard flooring also transitioned from green back to the normal beige. The space where I’m standing was once home to this store’s deli café seating area.
Speaking of the deli, the Albertsons Florida Blogger pointed out how this store’s deli cold cut cases were covered with graphic window clings and the only meats available were pre-sliced. Harveys stores never offered an extensive selection of sliced ham and turkey (prepared foods, such as fried chicken, were always more popular), but they had a selection, nonetheless, until 2023 or so. Harveys seemed to discontinue custom deli cuts around the same time that Winn-Dixie ceased offering scoops of deli salads.
In any regard, AFB stated that, “the fact the deli was shifted to pre-pack only with the cases covered over really jumped out to me . . . it seemed like a bad move in a competitive place like Lakeland, home of WD’s biggest rival.”
Something that surprised me was the fact that this store still had a fresh seafood counter. It didn’t actually have fresh seafood, given the window clings over the fish cases, but it presented the illusion, at a minimum.
Aisle two found favor as a double-wide corridor and hosted beverages of the softer variety. Aisle three was home more drinks and juices, while one of the two unsigned aisle fours had the Dollar shop.
The front end of the store should look familiar to anybody who has shopped at a Winn-Dixie; it featured the typical “wedding cake” ceiling above the cash registers and promotional area.
The other, entirely separate, aisle four was devoted to Hispanic foods; it even featured a custom hanging sign I had never seen before. This is something I would never have expected to find in a Delhaize Harveys given how those stores catered toward the rural African American and white populations of Middle and South Georgia.
The rear of the store was, likewise, configured identically to a Winn-Dixie.
Aisle five picked up with cereal & breakfast items two rows over from where aisle 3 left off. Aisle seven, with its poorly placed columns, showcased canned vegetables, rice, and pasta.
Frozen foods were next on the menu and came in the form of a typical Winn-Dixie configuration. That (and the unfortunate column placement) didn’t surprise me as much as the Harveys-branded fresh baked bread sign. Here’s something else that doesn’t belong given how Harveys was never big on in-store bakeries.
The internet’s most famous aisle deserves a spotlight given how AFB took the time to photograph it. Now is also the perfect time to point out the vastly improved photo quality from his new phone – no more yellow photos! (Well, almost.)
Returning to the back of the store, we find where lunch meats are sandwiched between the restroom hallway and the frozen meat cases (I’m sorry, I had to milk that pun for all it was worth).
There is no doubt in my mind how this space will look now that it has returned to Winn-Dixie, considering how it was still laid out like one. All The Beef People needed to do was paint the walls and call it a day.
This shot of the double-wide aisle 14 also showcases Winn-Dixie’s rollout of the C&S Wholesale house brand, “Best Yet.” I’ve only seen this private label in paper goods & frozen items, but I’m sure that more things are to come.
Aisle 17 continued the trend of “Winn-Dixie, but yellow.” Here, we see the familiar bakery soffit from a 1990’s WD along with the standard bunker cases for promotional dairy items.
AFB and I both observed how depressing and run-down this store felt in person. We see some of the weathered tile and lackluster merchandising in his photo above, but other aspects, worn, creaky shopping carts, are only blatant in person.
This old Winn-Dixie still managed to draw a decent crowd in spite of its tarnish.
The former pharmacy counter was behind the promotional shelves to the right. I’m not certain, but the quick coverup on the road sign seems to indicate this pharmacy closed as part of the 2023 round.
The store had a total of six-or-so manned checkout counters and no self-checkout lines. The old Americus Harveys is the only one that comes to mind as having SCO machines which isn’t surprising given how that store was a nicer location for the chain.
Back outside, we get a better look at the store’s rightmost entrance, which was added during the 2008 remodel.
I’ll close out today’s coverage with a look at the circa 2000 “truss” Winn-Dixie road sign while also pointing out the blatant former Blockbuster sign that has been repurposed for a liquor store. Rent King, Dollar Tree, Jay’s Liquor, China Chen’s, and Subway round out Eastside Village making for a prime selection of “b-tier” tenants. This shopping center may not be the best, but I suppose that maintaining a store here is better for The Beef People than losing out on Polk County as a whole.
Make sure to head over to The Albertsons Florida Blog next Sunday for part two of this series. As for Grocery South and The Sing Oil Blog, I intend to take a few weeks off to work on a few personal projects that I’ve been putting off. I hope you will take this opportunity to spend time with family or explore the world around you! I’ll see you soon, but in the meantime, don’t forget to read through my extensive backlog of pieces. I also promise that my next post will cover a good ole Publix store!
Until next time,
- Sing Oil Media
Let's see how the comments on here work…
While it's sad to see Harvey's go, all things considered, it's probably for the best SEG phased out the brand to focus on WD after all the mess Aldi caused. After the botched rebranding in 2016 it seems like SEG lost all interest in Harvey's following the 2018 bankruptcy and just let it wither away. I don't know why SEG would try to fix something that wasn't broken (especially if the original legacy stores were that profitable), but who knows, as like we've discussed before, it seems like SEG never wanted anything to do with Harvey's to begin with.
This store was depressing, and overall I can't say I was ever impressed with any of the 3 WD-to-Harvey's conversions I've ever been to (even when I visited one of these in 2017 right after it converted). I never made it to a legacy Harvey's, but hopefully those were better stores overall than what I saw here. Not to get ahead of myself, but I think you'll be quite impressed with what you'll be seeing here post-Harvey's...
Anyway, as far as this store's history goes, are you sure the expansion to the right was into the old pharmacy space? The Eckerd/CVS this store was paired with was housed in what's now the Rent King space at the left end of the strip - see here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/h9irMCQAc1LjyRJd9
If Eckerd was pushed out when WD expanded in the 2000's, I'd be surprised they didn't build a freestanding replacement back then somewhere else and instead moved to another in-line space at the end of the plaza like that. Looking at the satellite imagery, I wonder if that space could have been a 5&10 or something like that instead (WD seemed to pair often with Eagle Discount Stores back then, which was a 5&10 type place), unless you did see that Eckerd moved to a new in-line space in the early 2000's.
Seeing the Blockbuster sign frame was an interesting treat too. With the odd shape, I'm surprised the liquor store bothered to reuse it, but I guess reuse must have been cheaper than replacing it with a new plain rectangular or circle frame.