Enson Market, an Asian and international foods grocer, appears to be considering leasing the space now occupied by a Winn-Dixie supermarket in the Mandarin area.
The Enson Market Jax Inc. name registered Oct. 8 with the Florida Division of Corporations lists the business at 11101 Old St. Augustine Road, the address for a Winn-Dixie store.
Enson Markets are supplied by Enson Group of Cincinnati, Ohio. The closest of the three Florida stores is in Gainesville.
Winn-Dixie remains open
Jacksonville-based Southeastern Grocers, the parent company of Winn-Dixie, does not confirm nor deny that the store will close.
“As our business and stores continue to evolve, we’re constantly evaluating business opportunities and our locations to best serve the needs of our communities,” said Meredith Hurley, Southeastern Grocers senior director of communications and community, in a Dec. 6 statement.
“Should we make a significant business decision regarding the Winn-Dixie store located at 11101 Old St. Augustine Road, our associates will always be the first to know. The store continues to work hard to deliver the great service and value our customers have come to expect from us, and we will be sure to keep you informed of any future plans for this location.”
German discount grocer Aldi, whose U.S. headquarters are in Illinois, bought Southeastern Grocers and its Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores in March and has been converting some of them to the Aldi brand.
It said it would maintain some of the stores under the Winn-Dixie and Harveys banners.
The 11101 Old St. Augustine Road store is on 4.93 acres at northeast Interstate 295 and Old St. Augustine Road. The store property is bordered to the north by Losco Road.
Miami Lakes-based Gator Investments has listed the almost 45,000-square store for lease. Gator Investments has not returned a call for comment.
The Duval County Property Appraiser shows the store was built in 1994. City building records indicate it was renovated in 2008 at a cost of $937,400.
Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. sold the property to Illinois-based Modern Woodmen of America, a financial services organization, for $3.1 million in 1994. Southeastern Grocers was formed in 2012 when Winn-Dixie merged with Bi-Lo Holdings.
In 2018, Modern Woodmen sold the property to Gator Old St. Augustine Jax LLC for $3.4 million. That LLC is led by James Goldsmith, president and CEO of Gator Investments.
About Enson
EnsonGroup.com and other websites show there are seven Enson Markets in five states – Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia.
The Florida locations are in Gainesville, Orlando and Plantation.
Sites show five Enson Markets opening soon in four states – Florida, Minnesota, Ohio and Texas.
The Florida store opening soon is at 11750 E. Colonial Drive, a second Enson Market in Orlando. Jacksonville is not listed.
Enson Group says it is in the food service supplies and equipment industry. It says it is the parent company of Enson Cincinnati, Enson Reading, Enson Philadelphia, Enson St. Louis, Enson Seafood IN Inc., doing business as First Choice Seafood, and Enson Seafood GA Inc.
“We provide food supplies for restaurants in the Midwest, Georgia, Florida and states on the East coast, including Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia , New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.”
Enson Group says it owns international supermarket chains ”all over the U.S.”
“We keep expanding our business in supermarkets and grocery stores, and we are establishing the fastest-growing grocery store chain in America,” it says.
“Our vendors are curated for high quality standards. We welcome more retail suppliers to partner with us to offer various choices for our customers.”
Enson Market says that “from nature to organic, from Asia to America, you can find all types of products you need at our place.”
The stores carry fresh, frozen and packaged foods, meats, seafood and produce, along with other merchandise and a hot bar or food court.
In 2022, the Dayton Daily News newspaper said the international market concept would open in Miamisburg, Ohio, near Dayton, in a former Aldi store that it would expand by almost 6,000 square feet.
The Norr Agency posted this year on thenorragency.com that it helped Enson Market with photo and video assets “to meet, and surpass their competitors in the Asian grocery store marketplace.”
“Enson Market is an Asian market ... local food store that primarily caters to a single particular Asian cultural group but additionally caters to other immigrant groups who do not have easy access to food and products from their country of origin,” the site said.
“These markets go farther than a typical market in that they sell quintessential general merchandise, goods, and services related to specific Asian countries of origin and immigrant communities. They are prevalent in Asian enclaves in the United States and Canada.”
The five Enson Market LLCs were registered with the state in 2020 (Orlando), 2021 (Plantation and Orlando), 2022 (Gainesville) and, for Jacksonville, 2024.
Jacksonville attracting Asian markets
Enson Market would be the third large Asian and international foods market to open, announce or disclose plans for a Jacksonville presence.
Lotte Plaza Market, a Korean- and Asian-focused grocery store, has been approved to renovate the closed Best Buy electronics store at 9355 Atlantic Blvd. in the Regency area of Arlington at a cost of $8.99 million.
The store is almost 45,800 square feet. The Maryland-based market, which operates along the East Coast, carries Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Philippine, Thai and Indian products, among other foods.
Lotte Plaza Market follows the February 2024 opening of RD International Market in a renovated 52,600-square-foot Winn-Dixie at 7534 Beach Blvd. in the Hogan area.
RD International, an Asian and seafood market, carries food, décor, housewares, fresh produce, refrigerated foods, frozen and fresh meats and fish and more than 50 live seafood tanks and a food court.