Grocery Gamble

With an arsenal of high-end gastronomic personnel at his disposal, it would make sense to assume Dale Root runs a luxury resort, or at the least, a four-star restaurant.

The people who work for Root include a cheese monger and a wine steward. One associate is a former culinary manager for Ruth's Chris Steak House, while another employee worked the kitchen at the Sarasota Yacht Club.

Yet Root's workplace isn't a top resort. Nor is it an opulent casino. It's not even a restaurant.

Instead, Root is a store director for Winn-Dixie. Those employees are part of a massive transformation of the Sarasota store on Fruitville Road, just west of Interstate 75. The $5.6 million project covers everything from floors to ceilings at the 56,000-square-foot facility. It includes new refrigerated pod displays for produce and more than 40 new cases for frozen foods.