2 stores in final closing stages

JUPITER — Big, yellow “for sale” signs now adorn the windows of the two WinnDixie stores in the city. Peering in, one sees bare shelves and no customers.

Monday was the last day to buy food at both locations and now the only items for sale are fixtures, furniture and equipment. The closings mark the end of Winn-Dixie’s presence in the city. The closest Winn-Dixie stores are in Hobe Sound and Palm Beach Gardens.

The stores, at 6707 W. Indiantown Road and 3757 Military Trail, are two of three stores that Winn-Dixie’s parent company, Southeastern Grocers, is closing. An announcement last month said the grocer’s only Fresco y Más location in Palm Beach County also will be shuttered. The store, at 2675 S. Military Trail in suburban West Palm Beach, opened in late 2016.

Standing outside an almost empty store Wednesday, Michael Randle, customer service manager at the Military Trail Winn-Dixie, was smiling, though he was one of the two staffers there.

“One-hundred percent of my employees either were relocated to other stores or found new jobs,” said Randle. “I’m happy that my employees were taken care of.”

The closures are part of a restructuring plan to shutter 94 under-performing stores across its four grocery brands. Once complete, Southeastern Grocers will have 582 stores across the Southeast, operating under the Winn-Dixie, Harvey Supermarket, Bi Lo and Fresco y Más brands.

Both Jupiter Winn-Dixie stores will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. until the end of the month.