Winn-Dixie Receives Court Approval Of 'First Day Motions'

Winn-Dixie Receives Court Approval Of 'First Day Motions'
Court Authorizes Continued Payment Of Employee Wages And Benefits, Payment To
Vendors For Post-Petition Goods And Services, And Other Actions To Allow The
Company's Business To Operate As Usual



JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Feb. 23  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.
(WNDXQ) announced today that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court has granted the relief
the Company requested in a series of court filings known as "First Day
Motions." The orders issued by the Court will help the Company continue to
operate its business during the reorganization process.

On February 21, 2005, as part of its voluntary filing to reorganize under
Chapter 11, Winn-Dixie filed more than 25 First Day Motions to support its
associates and vendors, together with its customers and other stakeholders.
Among other things, the Court granted interim approval for the Company's
request to:

Continue payment of salaries, wages and health and welfare benefits to
associates as normal;

Pay vendors for goods and services provided on or after February 22, 2005;

Reject the unexpired leases of approximately 150 previously closed stores and
two previously closed warehouses; and

Continue honoring obligations to its customers under the Company's Customer
Rewards Card program.

The Court also granted interim approval for the Company to access up to $600
million of its new $800 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) credit facility from
Wachovia Bank, N.A. The DIP credit facility, which replaces the Company's
previous $600 million credit line, will be used to supplement the Company's
cash flow during the reorganization process. A hearing for final approval of
the entire DIP facility has been scheduled for March 15, 2005. A hearing for
final approval of all of the other First Day Motions, including several that
were deferred, has been scheduled for March 4, 2005. The Company's First Day
Motions were granted, pending, among other things, review by the Creditors'
Committee, which is expected to be formed during the week of February 28, and
subsequent approval by the Court.

All 920 Winn-Dixie stores in the U.S. and the Bahamas are open, and the Company
reports that business is operating smoothly. Peter Lynch, President and Chief
Executive Officer, said: "I am very proud of our associates, who have reacted
to the news of our reorganization with their heads held high and their focus
squarely on serving our customers. Our vendors have also been supportive. Our
stores are well stocked and we are conducting business as usual."

Winn-Dixie's Chapter 11 case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern
District of New York has been assigned the number 05-11063, the Honorable
Robert D. Drain presiding. Chief Judge Stuart M. Bernstein heard the First Day
Motions in hearings on February 22 and 23.

About Winn-Dixie

Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., is one of the nation's largest food retailers. Founded
in 1925, the Company is headquartered in Jacksonville, FL. For more
information, please visit http://www.winn-dixie.com/.

More information about Winn-Dixie's reorganization case is available on the
Company's Web site at http://www.winn-dixie.com/ or as follows: Customers:
1-866-WINN-DIXIE (1-866-946-6349), Media: Kekst and Company -- Wendi Kopsick,
[phone], Caroline Gentile, [phone], or Michael Freitag, (212)
521-4896. Investors: 212-521-4835.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this press release may constitute "forward- looking
statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These
forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties. Actual
results may differ materially from the expected results described in the
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include and may be
indicated by words or phrases such as "anticipate," "estimate," "plans,"
"expects," "projects," "should," "will," "believes," or "intends" and similar
words and phrases.  There are a number of factors that could cause the
Company's actual results to differ materially from the expected results
described in the Company's forward-looking statements.

There can be no assurance that the Company's restructuring will be successful. 
Risk factors related to its restructuring efforts that could cause actual
results to differ from these forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, the following: the Company's ability to continue as a going
concern; the Company's ability to obtain court approval for its DIP facility;
court approval of the Company's first day papers or other motions filed with
the bankruptcy court from time to time; the ability of the Company to operate
under the terms of the Company's DIP facility; the ability of the Company to
develop, confirm and consummate plans of reorganization; risks associated with
third parties seeking and obtaining court approval to terminate or shorten
plans of reorganization, for the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee or to
convert the cases to Chapter 7 cases; the potential adverse impact of the
Chapter 11 cases on the Company's liquidity and results of operations; the
ability of the Company to obtain and maintain trade credit and shipments and
terms with vendors and service providers for current and future orders and to
maintain in-stock positions for all of its product offerings; the Company's
ability to maintain contracts that are critical to its operations; the ability
of the Company to attract and retain customers; the ability of the Company to
attract, motivate and retain key executives and associates; and potential
adverse publicity.

In addition, the Company faces a number of risks with respect to its continuing
business operations, including but not limited to: the Company's ability to
execute its strategic initiatives, including asset rationalization, store
upgrades, expense reduction, brand positioning and customer service, and to
fund its store upgrades and brand positioning initiatives; the Company's
ability to increase sales and market share through the brand-related
initiatives being tested in the Company's lead markets; the Company's ability
to increase capital spending levels in the future to invest in its store base
and other capital projects; the Company's ability to manage its inventory
efficiently; and the Company's response to the entry of new competitors in its
markets, including traditional grocery store openings and the entry of non-
traditional grocery retailers such as mass merchandisers, supercenters,
warehouse club stores, dollar-discount stores, drug stores and conventional
department stores.

Please refer to discussions of these and other factors in this news release, in
the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30,
2004, the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended January 12, 2005,
and other Company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These
statements are based on current expectations and speak only as of the date of
such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise or
update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. 

DATASOURCE: Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.



CONTACT:  Investors, [phone], or Media, Wendi Kopsick,

[phone], or Caroline Gentile, [phone], or Michael Freitag,

[phone], all of Kekst and Company, for Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.



Web site:  http://www.winn-dixie.com/

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