The City of Longwood's development map, updated September 11, 2026, says the ALDI going into the old Winn-Dixie at 434 Center will take up "approximately half of the current Winn-Dixie space." The same entry says ALDI is marketing the rest of the building for lease and has not shared any tenant or filed any permits for it. That makes the most visible grocery box on West State Road 434 a two-tenant building, and only one of the two has been named.

The split fits a wider pattern in Longwood this year. Almost every business change that has reached opening day in 2026 moved into a building someone else left. The one new food project on the city's list that needs a building put up from scratch still has no building permit.

What moved where in 2026

Most of these changes swapped one name for another inside the same walls.

Orlando Weekly reported in early August that The Nazca Lines had opened in the old Happy Teriyaki space. It's a Peruvian restaurant run by native Peruvian chef Santiago Gomero, who came over from Off the Hook. Orlando Weekly ran an opening listing for EōS Fitness at Longwood Lakes Shopping Center on July 31, and the city map now lists the gym as open in the former LA Fitness building. The Trustco Bank project is a 16,000-square-foot regional headquarters. It will hold the bank's branch administration, personnel and customer service departments, all inside a renovated medical office building on West State Road 434.

Smaller spaces followed the same pattern. Summer Breeze Roti Shop opened in April 2026 at 215 W. State Road 434, Unit 203, next to Dough Boyz Pizza, according to a local food writer's June visit. The city map also lists a new location of Sunshine Pharmacy, a local pharmacy, as open.

Why the Winn-Dixie is being cut in half

The split comes from store size. Supermarket News reported on March 17, 2026, citing the Orlando Business Journal, that a typical Winn-Dixie is nearly twice the size of a standard ALDI. ALDI will therefore divide most of the stores it converts and bring in another tenant for the leftover space. That same report named seven Central Florida Winn-Dixies set to become ALDIs. They were in Titusville, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Lady Lake, Eustis, DeBary and 951 W. State Road 434 in Longwood.

The Longwood Winn-Dixie closed in February. Its fixtures and equipment were sold through an online auction, with pickup scheduled for February 16 through 20. The city approved the new store at staff level, because a grocery store is already an allowed use under the property's zoning. Construction was underway as of the September 11 map update.

The ALDI's opening date is still unknown. WhatNow Orlando reported on August 21 that rollout details for the Longwood store weren't available yet. It also noted that the Orlando Business Journal had said in March that three of the seven sites would "open by summer's end." In mid-October, ALDI's grand openings page listed new Florida stores in Madison and Zephyrhills but not Longwood. Supermarket News also noted back in March that the company had not confirmed opening dates for any of the conversions.

What has filled the other half elsewhere

The second tenant matters at least as much as the grocer. A former Winn-Dixie is a large building, and half of one is still a big space next to one of Longwood's busiest commercial strips. Whoever takes it will help decide how many people turn into 434 Center, and when.

There is some precedent for what goes there. The Orlando Business Journal covered ALDI opening converted Winn-Dixie stores in Apopka and Daytona Beach in a September 28 report. Its summary says the leftover space at converted sites is drawing tenants such as Planet Fitness and Dollar Tree. Those examples come from other cities, so they don't tell us anything about a particular deal in Longwood. They do suggest the kinds of tenants that tend to want this size of space. A gym or a discount retailer brings a different daily traffic pattern than a restaurant or a medical office would.

The neighbors at 434 Center are already there. WhatNow lists Paddy's Pub Longwood and Golden Thai Restaurant among the local businesses the ALDI will join. For those businesses, an empty half-building and a busy one could mean very different numbers of people walking past.

Reused buildings have opened first

Reused buildings have also opened faster, which helps explain why so much of the year's change has happened inside existing walls. Compare the Longwood projects that are open with the one that is still waiting.

Jack in the Box opened on February 19, 2026, in the former Wendy's on West State Road 434. It's a fast-food restaurant moving into a building designed for fast food. EōS Fitness took over a building that was already a gym. The ALDI approval needed no hearing, since the zoning already allowed a grocery store. In each case, the building did much of the work before the new tenant arrived.

Longwood's first Dairy Queen Grill 'n' Chill is on a different track. The city map says its site development plan is approved and a development order has been issued. The applicant has bought the property, but no building permit application has been filed, and no timeline has been shared. It's the one new restaurant on the city's list that needs a building put up first, and it doesn't yet have a building permit or any submittal timeline.

A closed space doesn't always refill quickly, though. Holy City Zoo BBQ at 190 S. Ronald Reagan Boulevard closed effective June 1, 2026, according to Orlando Shine. Orlando Weekly included it in its September roundup of summer closings. No replacement for that space has been announced.

What to watch at 434 Center

Most of the corner's remaining questions will be settled in a few public places:

1. ALDI's grand openings page. ALDI lists Florida openings on its grand openings page, so Longwood should show up there first.
2. The city's development map. The City of Longwood Interactive Development Map says it tracks projects that are under construction or have site plans or building permits under review. A permit for the second half of the building would most likely appear there.
3. The name of the second tenant. The September update said ALDI had not provided any information on a tenant for the remaining space. That will be the update to look for at this corner.

Our earlier look at how Longwood's Saturday has shifted off State Road 434 covered the road itself. This post covers the buildings along it. More of our local coverage is on the Longwood neighborhood page.

Changes like a new grocer or a second tenant at 434 Center help shape how nearby streets feel day to day. They also come up when a homeowner nearby starts thinking about the future. If you live near the West State Road 434 corridor and want a clear read on how changes at that corner could figure into your plans, The Mel Bernstein Team follows Longwood's development updates closely. Let's Connect.