A spokesman for Winn-Dixie says business is “good” in the New Orleans area and that it is looking to open up new stores in the Crescent City and Baton Rouge. Joey Medina says his company is actively looking in all parts of New Orleans and the Capital Region. That’s a turnaround for Winn-Dixie, which closed seven metro Baton Rouge stores in 2005, when the chain was going through bankruptcy.
As the population of New Orleans increases, Median says Winn-Dixie’s strategy is to look for ways to fill “several gaps throughout the city.” Those gaps in the chain’s coverage could be areas where the company operated stores before Hurricane Katrina but didn’t return, and others where there might never have been a store. Medina says Winn-Dixie plans to open a new store off La. 21 near Covington by year’s end.
