By Kyle Coppola
ALDI Opens First Store in The Villages
Discount grocery chain ALDI officially opened its first store in The Villages on Thursday. Located at 820 Old Camp Road in Lake Sumter Landing, the new store replaces the former Winn-Dixie.
The new ALDI was officially unveiled with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that drew hundreds of local residents.
Hundreds of local residents gathered for the grand opening of ALDI at Lake Sumter Landing in The Villages.
Early risers gathered in long lines outside the newly remodeled store for the grand opening event, which featured giveaways, free samples, and a chance to win a $500 ALDI gift card. Ed and Sherry Davidson, the first customers through the doors, said they waited in line for more than four hours.
(The New ALDI is a smaller location than Winn-Dixie and is more compact. Everything is easy to find and organized well.
“It’s a beautiful store and the prices are right,” the Davidsons said. “We are very happy to have them in the community.”
The new location is part of ALDI’s expansion, following its 2023 acquisition of multiple Winn-Dixie stores. While ALDI already operates locations in nearby Lady Lake, Oxford, and Wildwood, this store marks its first within The Villages proper, and it’s fully accessible by golf cart, a key mode of transportation in the community.
Ed and Sherry Davidson stand with ALDI store manager Breanna Day. The Davidson’s were the first shoppers and waited for over four hours for the grand opening.
“I used to shop here when it was Winn-Dixie, but this feels like a whole new store,” said Judy Franklin, a Villages resident attending the opening. “I’m excited about the prices and the variety, especially with everything getting so expensive these days.”
Store Manager Brianna Day welcomed customers during the event, noting the effort it took to bring the store to life. “Good morning! My team and I worked really hard, and it’s an honor to share it and serve the community,” Day said. “Thank you for the support.”
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
