Winn Dixie not a draw for local business owners

By Joyce Moed

Mark Kellerman, owner of Alligator Art in Wellington Marketplace, isn't worried about the loss of the Winn Dixie Marketplace from the Wellington Marketplace, where his custom-framing store has been located for the past nine years.
The Winn Dixie store has been at that location for 15 years, and will be closing its doors for good at 3 p.m. on Aug. 20th.
"It wasn't a big draw for us," he said.
But it could affect others, he said.

"It depends on how long it's empty," he said. "A vacant store isn't good."
It's a sentiment shared by Dean Van, owner of Wellington Florist Inc.
"I am very disappointed that the store is closing," he said.

But he is not expecting it to hurt his thriving business. In fact, it might be just do the opposite, he added.

"I'm a destination, just like them," Van said. "They carry flowers. So if anything, it may help business."

Wellington Florist Inc. has been at that location for 15 years, and is located on the other side of the center from Winn Dixie, so Van said that the grocery store was not a big draw for his shop.

"I don't think people went to Winn Dixie, bought a quart of milk and then came here for flowers," Van said.

Wellington Florist Inc. also takes phone orders and does business through it's Web site - other reasons that Van is not worried about his business being negatively impacted about Winn Dixie's departure.

"My store here does very good here. I'm hoping it doesn't stay vacant though. We're all looking for traffic. I'm optimistic that something nice will move in there."
Van is also disappointed about the rumor that the Walgreens located next to the Winn Dixie may be closing its doors as well. But still, he is hoping for the best.
Maybe the rumor of a bowling alley moving in will prove to be true, or perhaps another venue that will attract children and families, he said.

"That would be really nice," he said.

Jill Strumpf, president of the Clearwater-based property management company Bruce Strumpf Inc., which is the property management company for the Wellington Marketplace, has no reason to believe that Walgreens will be leaving the shopping center.

"I have not received any indication that they are vacating," she said. "The landlord would be the last to know."

Strumpf is also not worried about the impact of Winn Dixie's departure on the existing tenants.

"All the tenants are well-established," she said. "I don't believe that Winn Dixie brought too many people in."

For Jack Van Dell, owner of Van Dell Jewelers, saying goodbye to Winn Dixie is a moment he is welcoming.

"We have been waiting for this. It will have no impact at all," he said. "Or really only a positive one. We are getting rid of a negative. It was not a very good store. It wasn't well-run. It wasn't very clean. It was no draw at all for us."

Like Van, Dell said that his store, which has been at its current location for about 17 years when the shopping center first opened, is really a destination shop.
Dell is hoping for something "more high-end" to move into the location where Winn Dixie is now conducting its last days of business, selling whatever items are left at a 75 percent discount.

Strumpf said she does not know the future of the space now occupied by Winn Dixie.
"Winn Dixie has control of the lease," she said. "The lease is going up for auction by Winn Dixie."

"This isn't a place where you would just come shopping with your girlfriends. These little shopping centers are all for destination shopping," he said.

Other businesses in the Wellington Marketplace include: Parlor Ice Cream, The Tackeria, Hospice By the Sea Resale Shop, Furry Fins and Feathers, Pak Mail and Salon Soleil.

"This is a good location for people in Wellington to visit Wellington merchants," Dell said.