Lucky's grocery store files for bankruptcy protection, sells some stores to ALDI

LAKE MARY, Fla. - Lucky's grocery store was supposed to be the anchor store at the Griffin Town Center, off Lake Mary Boulevard.

People in the shopping plaza are wondering what's next after Lucky’s announced it was closing its doors?

Many of the surrounding businesses are small, independent stores and boutiques that would share Lucky’s upscale clientele.

Rene Barrios owns nearby Casa Leon Jewelers, which only opened three weeks ago.

“We were expecting Lucky's. That brings a lot more high-end tenants,” Barrios said. “That also would bring some foot traffic and definitely help the business.”

The store where Lucky's would have opened has everything set up: Shelves, scales, even cash registers are all in place. 

But, the shelves are bare and the aisles are empty.

“Right now, we're in that stage where, 'Wow, what's gonna happen next?' We're having to put a lot of money in advertising, trying to be every man on its own right now,” Barrios said.

Lucky's says it's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and that five of its locations would be turned over to ALDI supermarkets.

It's unclear yet which stores that would be, though businesses in Lake Mary aren't sure an ALDI would be a good fit for this plaza.

“I would like something a little more upscale, maybe Publix or Trader Joe's,” Barrios said.

As of now, Lucky's says it only plans to keep one of its Florida stores open in Melbourne.