Droves of customers lined up early Thursday morning for the grand opening of a new ALDI in Marion Oaks that replaced a former Winn-Dixie grocery store.
ALDI welcomed shopers to its new store at 184 Marion Oaks Boulevard in Ocala at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, June 5.
The grocer held a soft opening on Wednesday, June 4, before officially opening its doors to the public. The store will be open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
On Thursday, the first 100 customers received gift bags filled with samplings of ALDI-exclusive products and a gift card. Shoppers also had the opportunity to enter a sweepstakes for a $500 ALDI gift card through opening weekend.
The opening of the new store comes just under two years after ALDI first acquired Winn-Dixie locations in a multi-billion dollar deal. The company eventually sold hundreds of those locations and focused on renovating a portion of those they originally purchased.
Ocala-News.com first reported the conversion of the former Winn-Dixie late last year. According to county records, last summer, 184 Marion Oaks Blvd, LLC submitted plans to alter the location. That company is connected to a New York-based commercial real estate entity.
Founded in 1946 by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht, the brand opened its first store in the United States in 1976.
In Ocala, there are currently five ALDI locations in operation, with a sixth situated in Dunnellon. Across the United States, there are over 2,500 ALDI grocery stores.
As of 2025, there over 12,000 ALDI stores in operation across a dozen and a half countries, according to the company’s website.