Opp | Winn-Dixie #426 - Dothan, AL

 

Opp

Sing Food Store | Deli

101 East Stewart Avenue

Opp, AL 36467

Scroll Down for today's MTC post on Winn-Dixie #426

Well, folks, we are coming into the home stretch.  Following this post, I'm counting five more Sings that I have enough content to write a post on.  I'm not ruling out the chance that I make it to a pool store in Knoxville, TN, or that I decide to write about an old dealer station in Columbus, GA, but I'll also be happy to wait for those until an opportunity presents itself.   It's hard to believe that the end is in sight!  That may be the case, but first, we must learn about a particular station in the small town of Opp, Alabama.

 

It seems that blogging on a plane has become commonplace for me.  Since I'm not a movie person, I guess that there isn't much better to do.  Anyhow, the first rain that the Southeast has seemingly seen in months has been causing all sorts of travel issues today (well, the day that I wrote this), and I was not spared.  I'll make it to my final destination eventually, but for now, let's explore an old Sing Store before those dark clouds on the horizon roll in.

While waiting in the terminal, I spent 10 minutes watching somebody try to get a bag of chips out of the only vending machine in the small room; it was the first piece of genuine entertainment I had all day.   A man was trying all sorts of tricks to retrieve his treat and was making no progress.  That is, until a little old lady walked up and said "just open the door a few times and it will fall out."  This sounded crazy, but wouldn't you know, her trick worked!  I told the people around me that the airport intentionally did that to us to distract us from our six-hour flight delay.  There is nothing more bonding than the common goal of rescuing some Lay's!

For another random update that you probably don't care about, I went back to my old process for managing photos with today's post and I am already hating it.  It got to relive the agony of moving each photo into place, of resizing each image, and of setting the correct text format only to realize how much more efficient my new scripts make things.  After all, there is no way that I would have been able to turn around my post on Winn-Dixie's new Centennial package so fast without those new processes in place.  Let's hope that I don't have many more partially completed posts, like this one, in my backlog.

  

 

As for this Sing, I've never actually seen it with my own eyes.  The Sing Oil Sidekick was kind enough to photograph it for me while passing through the area, and at the same time, he took the huge burden off my back of figuring out when I could drive by.

Notice the wide canopy columns left over from this station's tenure as a Shell.

Around 1984, Sing began to explore new locations to expand its reach.  I recently heard somebody familiar with the company say that Sing Oil Company's final 10 stores were "terrible."  That made me realize how that person's "10 stores" likely included Bogalusa, Troy, Moultrie, Enterprise, Columbia, the infamous Tallahassee #13.  Three of those stores didn't even survive to see the 1990 Amoco deal close, while the other three were far-fetched in one way or another.  He attributed these "mistakes" to the reason why Sing had to sell, and while I don't know if that is the truth, I can at least see how he came to that conclusion.

Opp, likewise, was sold off prior to the Amoco merger, which indicates that it, too, was a dud.  It, along with Enterprise and Troy, seem to have been sold off as a package deal considering how all three stations showed signs of 1990's Shell branding and all three now sell fuel from Sunstate Oil.

I've never understood why Sing Oil thought it could magically break into rural Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana towns; however, I suppose that leadership thought established markets, such as Columbus, LaGrange, or Tallahassee, were saturated.

In spite of that, this store continues to sport Sing's corduroy concrete exterior walls and a mid-1980's building design nearly identical to Bradfordville.

Stepping though the doors, we also find that the layout here in Opp has generally remained the same as it was in 1985.

The lights have been swapped out, and the walls have been painted, but the floor tiles are 100% original to Sing Oil Company.

Off to the right of the door, we also find the original dining nook still (partially) used as such.

These booths appear too new to be from Sing, but they at least use the same styling.

Off to the right, I also see the chair railing left over from Subway.  I have no idea when the sandwich shop operated here, but that piece of trim is hard to mistake.

The restrooms also remain where Sing left them, just in an out of order state.  There's no telling if they still have the original orange tile like Laurel did.

As if we pulled a rabbit from a hat, we are back in the main part of the store and are joined by some sweet snacks.

Spinning around, we find that bait has taken the place of automotive supplies, and fountain drinks conquered the garden and hardware departments.

To the left of the drink machines, we find the original hallway back to the stock rooms.

I have never heard of Rap Snacks, and I'm not sure I care to try them either.

Coffee, juice, and tea fill the "dairy" cooler . . .

. . . while Gatorade and water reside under the "energy" sign.

More off-brand chips and snacks are found atop a Red Bull display.

Likewise, soft drinks are found under the "Beer" sign.  I wonder if anybody ever pays attention to those categories.  At least those signs appear to use Sunoco branding.

I will say that the sign for the Beer Cave matches!  This store installed new built-in coolers at some point, as evidenced by the newer tile framing them in.

Looking down the left side of the store, we see pallets of random drinks where Sing once had its fountain drink island.

I've never seen snacks from Old El Paso before, much less Queso Fiesta Twists.

That drink cooler on the right really gets in the way of this aisle.  Oh well, we can still partially see the register counter.  Considering how there was once a Subway in here (and how that newer grey tile continues around the bottom of the counter), I don't think those red cabinets are original to Sing.  Nonetheless, the counter's placement is where it would have been in 1985.

The snacks just keep getting weirder and weirder.  Who asked for Arizona gummies?

Sing's deli may be long gone, but rest assured that the Opp Sunoco can still cook you up some fried chicken (and make you smell like it for the rest of the day).

The Sing Oil Sidekick gave me no shortage of pictures to use! 

Somebody throw me a life saver because I'm running out of caption ideas.

 

Oh, thank goodness; we are back outside!  It looks like we made it out of the station before the rain started and are able to continue our dive South.

It is almost out of the frame here, but off to the left, we can see one of Sing's old vacuum light poles still in use. 

 

That will conclude our time in "the City of Opportunity," but don't leave just yet; we still have another store to see.  Keep on scrolling past the various street and aerial views to learn about a different store in L.A. (Lower Alabama, that is).

Street Views

Google Earth - May 2009

Look at that old (empty) Sing sign frame still standing out front.

Google Maps - May 2013

It is crazy to see the old Shell branding still in place!

Google Maps - January 2016

Google Maps - March 2024

Aerial Views

Historic Aerials - 1982

Future Sing Store - Notice the house that will soon be demolished

Historic Aerials - 1982

Newly-opened Sing Store

Google Earth - February 1997

Former Sing Store - Nothing seems to have changed since it opened

Google Earth  - January 2024

Former Opp Sing Store as a Sunoco

Additional Resources:

Google Earth Pro

Google Maps

Covington County Property Records

Parcel ID: 23 11 08 28 2 204 032.000

 

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Another Casualty

Winn-Dixie #426

Wiregrass Plaza

1571 Westgate Parkway

Dothan, AL 36303

I wish that today’s More Than Convenience feature was closer than an hour’s drive from our last stop in Opp; however, there isn’t much I can do considering that I’ve never visited Covington County.  I have, on the other hand, made several trips through Houston County.

 

Named for the 24th governor of The Yellowhammer State, Houston County is situated in the extreme southeast corner of the state and is the only county in Alabama to boarder both Georgia and Florida.  If you are passing through, you also better know that the county’s name is pronounced like “house” as opposed to the pronunciation of the shore-front city in Texas.

The City of Dothan is by far the largest municipality in Houston County and serves as the commercial hub for Southeast Alabama, Southwest Georgia, and the North Florida Panhandle.  Dothan was once a booming market for The Beef People, considering how Winn-Dixie operated four stores in town as recently as 2018.

Courtesy of Winn-Dixie - 2007 Market Position

I also have evidence of that.  One of the Sing Oil Blog’s resident Winn-Dixie researchers, Kyle H., recently shared an old document with me stating that The Beef People were the #2 players in the Baton Rouge, Biloxi / Gulfport, Columbus, Dothan, Hattiesburg / Laurel, Meridian, Mobile / Pensacola, Montgomery, New Orleans, and Panama City marketing areas.  Publix was still a new player in this part of the country, and I'd imagine that Walmart was still the grocer in the top spot.  Come 2025, Winn-Dixie plans to exit all but two of these territories (Mobile / Pensacola and Panama City) and has undoubtedly fallen from its second place spot.  What's even more sobering is the fact that WD was ranked third or lower in every other DMA at the time and that none of their "core" markets had them in the top spot.

Back in Dothan, WD essentially had every corner of the city covered, with store #454 residing on the south side of Ross Clark Circle at Highway 231, store #422 sitting on Highway 84 just west of the circle (close to the old Albertsons), store #457 occupying the corner of Highway 84 East and the circle, and lastly, store #426 calling the north leg of Montgomery Highway / US 231 home.  The company seemingly did well in the area considering how all four of these stores were either newly constructed or extensively remodeled during the 1990’s and were remodeled once again to the “Fresh Experience” look following the 2005 bankruptcy.  Winn-Dixie #422 and #454 were both closed as part of the 2018 bankruptcy, while #426 and #457 both fell victim to the ALDI raids of 2025.

Like all of Alabama, Publix now reigns supreme as the dominant full-service grocer in Dothan by operating three stores around the city, two of which are adjacent to former Winn-Dixie centers.  Having opened in 2010 and 2011, these three stores undoubtedly dealt a substantial blow to Winn-Dixie’s market control over the region.

The Dothan Eagle (Newspapers.com) - July 16, 1986

Winn-Dixie #426 happened to be the oldest of Winn-Dixie’s final four Dothan stores and was surprisingly the third oldest in the state.  Having held its grand opening on July 17, 1986, this supermarket operated for nearly 40 years and remained in good shape until ALDI called in the contractors.  The store, ironically, was also the last for Winn-Dixie in the area, having closed for good on July 27, 2025, a week after #457 across town.  It still makes sense that this store likely did well considering how it is located along Dothan’s busiest retail corridor.

Much like we saw in Chiefland, this store expanded to the right during the mid-1990's to become a full-line Marketplace. 

 

 

To the left of the store was this oddly curved wall; it appears to just obscure an expansion pad but may have been installed to accommodate the change in elevation between storefronts.  I just wonder why Winn-Dixie decided to expand this store in the opposite direction.

Part of most “Fresh Experience” remodels was adding an additional set of entrance doors on the right side of the store.  This location was no exception to that, and we are currently looking toward the customer service desk from the cart coral by those doors.

There are two things in particular that I’d like to point out:  the first is how the weekly ad poster looks like it was designed for stores in Louisiana rather than Alabama.  After all, jazz, gumbo, and crawfish are all things that inspire visions of New Orleans rather than the Wiregrass Region of Alabama.  This must have been a common promotional item sent to stores serviced by the DC in Hammond, LA, despite me never noticing it elsewhere.

The second thing I’ll draw your attention to is the customer service desk.  This store was last remodeled to Winn-Dixie’s “Down Down” interior, but the customer service sign hails from the “Winn Win” package.  I’ve seen several supermarkets, especially ones in Alabama, where the customer service desk was moved from the opposite side of the checkout lines to this more centralized location within the last few years.  This was usually performed to accommodate a new grocery pickup staging area.

Just beyond the entrance, we find the (lacking) floral department in the space which was once likely home to photo finishing or wine.

The produce department (signed as Fruit & Vegetables) hosts an additional Louisiana-themed display for the “Flavors you love.”  The weekly ad sign was not alone!

Beginning around 2007, Winn-Dixie made the wise decision to install vinyl plank flooring in the "produce patch".  This particular location maintained those old vinyl planks until its closure in 2025, and they happened to age quite well.  It really makes a big difference in elevating the space when compared to the slightly older mint green floors still found in other stores.

That 2007 document I mentioned earlier also stated that Winn-Dixie spent close to $2 million on each of these “Fresh Experience” remodels.  That’s a lot of money (especially for 2007) and would explain why most of those renovations included “lavish” extras such as new flooring throughout the store.

I just wish that there were more lavish touches to Down Down besides the package’s extensive use of red paint.  We at least get a break from the rouge in the wine & beer section.

One of the biggest changes Winn-Dixie made to the Down Down interior was adding wood paneling over the service departments as part of newer installations.  This store, likewise, was an earlier example of the interior (and only the second Down Down store I’ve ever written about).

It looks like this store’s roof was showing signs of disrepair.  This leak seems to roughly line up with the transition to the 1990’s addition.

An extensive selection of hot food cases could be found at the deli.  I wonder how many wings this store sold on a regular day.

We’ll skip our way over to aisle 4 where we find a wide variety of snacks.  We also see our first Kmart-style air vent, indicating that we are back in the older portion of the building.

Up front, we find the familiar “wedding cake” ceiling over the registers that was added during the 1990’s expansion.  This store’s remodel must have been impressive because I’ve seen plenty of enlargements from that era that not include this feature.

Returning to the back, the frozen food letters come into view highlighting the meat freezers below.

We likewise find a familiar freezer aisle in the center of the store (complete with some very old upright freezers).

Ever since Winn-Dixie launched its Know & Love wine last year, the grocer has been diligent about marketing the product in most stores; I’m just not sure I’ve ever seen a full display next to the coffee creamer.  That seems like the combination would make for quite the interesting boozy milkshake . . .

Oh, and I couldn’t leave without photographing the giant bottle of wine!

I’ve been curious as to how Southeastern Grocers pulled off creating its own private label of wine, and it turns out that they just asked an existing vineyard to make one.  Furthermore, the Scheid Family wines that SEG private labels have scored relatively well in recent taste tests (I personally think the Pinot Gris tastes good).  At least local residents won’t have to travel far if they fell in love with this wine now that WD is gone; Publix still carries vintages from Windfinder, K&L’s sister brand.

The only winning deal left here is the one that ALDI got by killing off a competitor in nearly four states.

I feel like I've about milked these photos for every caption I can think of.

At least WD spent the time to reskin or repaint all of the old refrigerated cases because the alternative does not look very good.

Let's shake 'n bake!  This store's bakery counter received two signs despite it looking like it doesn't service many customers.

We go from lots of letters to no letters over at the old pharmacy.  This store couldn't even use the old prescription shelves to block the counter – it had to use cardboard chip displays!

When was the last time you saw free coffee at a grocery store?  I remember that Publix used to have it up front (and has long since killed off the amenity), but I never would have expected to see a display like this in a 2025 Winn-Dixie!  I wonder if this was mainly a promotion from the local Community Coffee sales representative.

Anyhow, that will conclude our adventures in L.A.  I hope that you had fun! 

Courtesy of ALDI

Today's parting shot comes from ALDI's real estate listing for subletting the space.  It appears that the German discounter plans to take the left side of the store (roughly 30,000 sq ft) while putting 22,522 sq ft on the right side of the building up for lease.  I've heard that the decision for which side to conquer often relates to the loading dock situation and it would make sense for the original side of the store to have the best dock configuration.

It's certainly sad to see Winn-Dixie exit yet another city, but let's hope that these pending remodels and "store replacements" will be just what the doctor ordered for the "brand new 100 year old company."

That will conclude today's coverage but make sure to check back in two weeks for our next adventure.

Until then,

- The Sing Oil Blogger