After abrupt Lucky’s Market exit, what happens to its Tampa Bay stores?
Lucky’s is closing 32 stores and had 19 planned that it never opened. Publix and Aldi aren’t buying local stores, so who will?

By Sara DiNatale
Tampa Bay Times
Published: Jan 29, 2020

Lucky’s Market still has active construction permits in Clearwater for a store that was supposed to open on Gulf to Bay Boulevard.

Then communication fell off while planners were in the process of approving store signs, according to city’s development office. Residents noticed a construction lull and banners that said “opening soon” disappeared.

Just over a week ago, a Facebook user posted to Lucky’s page asking when a store under construction in Brandon would open. Lucky’s responded by saying there “wasn’t one at the moment.” Now, there won’t be one ever.

Lucky’s — the store known for its cheap organic produce and for serving beer to sip while you shop — announced last week it was pulling out of Florida, with the exception of one location in Melbourne. This week, the chain filed for bankruptcy.

Just two years ago, Lucky’s was an aggressive leader in a wave of specialty grocers putting down stakes in Florida. Its abrupt departure could signal the Sunshine State is experiencing a glut of shopping options in some areas. And that spell uncertainty for what comes next for the three soon-to-be-abandoned Lucky’s Markets in Tampa Bay — two of which were still under construction.

Aldi and Publix are planning to purchase 11 of the Lucky’s locations, none of which are in Tampa Bay.

Lucky’s has said its Florida stores will close over the next couple of weeks and that none of the announced stores will open. In total, Lucky’s is closing 32 locations and abandoning 19 stores that were planned or under construction. The seven remaining stores are being sold to a new company spun off by the chain’s founders.

Developers and landlords who thought they had a safe bet on Lucky’s are now desperate to fill the remaining spaces Aldi and Publix aren’t taking over — spaces they had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in designing and building specifically for a Lucky’s Market.

“They’re upset,” said Noah Shaffer, senior director for Tampa’s Confidant Asset Management, “because they’re halfway through building that space, allocating all that money to do it.”

Construction records show the developer of the Clearwater store estimated its end of the project costing $300,000.

Lucky’s quick rise and fall In 2016, national supermarket leader Kroger decided to start investing in Lucky’s as a way to insert itself into Publix-dominated Florida.

Kroger helped double the Colorado-based chain’s footprint and brought its Florida store count to 21. Lucky’s opened its St. Petersburg market by Tyrone Square mall in 2018 and soon announced the two other Tampa Bay locations, in Brandon and Clearwater, as part of its rapid expansion.

It was unknown then just how much of a stake Kroger had in Lucky’s. Court records filed this week now give a clearer picture: Kroger had a majority stake in Lucky’s at 55 percent and was backing 31 of Lucky’s leases.

In December, Kroger pulled out of what it had long called a “strategic partnership” after not seeing enough return on investment.