Publix #1898 - Palm Bay, FL (Shoppes at Cypress Bay)

Photo courtesy of Publix

Publix #1898

9179 Babcock Street SE, Palm Bay, FL - Shoppes at Cypress Bay

Today's post is a presentation of Brevard County retail

     I'm on a bit of a roll for MFR it seems - two new posts in one month from me, and I may have something for February to share too! Anyway, while there's been plenty of talk about Winn-Dixie on this blog lately, I figured I'd change things up for the moment and talk about Publix today. Unlike the ever-shrinking (once again) Winn-Dixie, the ever-growing Publix keeps finding new places around Florida to add new stores, as if having 874 locations in this state wasn't enough! Opening on December 5, 2024, we'll be touring Publix's 872nd Florida location to see what Publix has been up to of late. While there haven't been any Earth-shattering changes out of Publix lately, I did want to showcase one minor change Publix made in the past year to their ever-spreading Evergreen decor. Outside of that change to Evergreen, another new-for-2024 addition to Publix's grand opening line-up made the cut for the Day 1 photo taken above - the famous giant Publix shopping cart!

Photo courtesy of Publix

     In addition to the giant shopping cart touring the streets of Palm Bay on grand opening morning, the grand opening also featured the traditional ribbon cutting ceremony (pictured above) alongside the usual parade of free samples inside and the cooler bag giveaway. I didn't get the chance to visit this store for grand opening morning (or grand opening day), instead popping by a few days later for a visit:

     By the time I arrived here, most of the pomp and circumstance from the grand opening was gone (as well as the giant shopping cart, which had rolled off to fulfill large shopping trips elsewhere).

     Publix #1898 is a fairly standard modern 48M store with the upper-level dining area and deli island, with this store design serving as Publix's default for new stores these days. The store we're touring today was built in the southernmost part of Palm Bay, Brevard's County's largest city, in an area sprouting with development along the new St. John's Heritage Parkway near its interchange with Interstate 95. Publix #1898 was one of 3 new Publix stores planned for the city in the near future, alongside its sibling store #1899 in the western part of town near Heritage High School and a replacement for the 1970's-era store #215 at Palm Bay Center (currently Brevard County's oldest Publix store). Store #1899 is projected to open sometime in 2025, although details on the replacement of #215 are rather murky on when that project will move forward.

     Stepping inside, we're welcomed to our new Publix store by this sign in the cart vestibule (sans the green beans these days). The brown tiles used in the vestibule (which look like something out of a 1980's supermarket) clash with the otherwise all gray surroundings in here.

     During my visit, the only signs left of the grand opening celebration were these literal signs on a table in the vestibule, announcing a gift card contest for anyone who used their Club Publix account at checkout during the store's first week in operation. Sadly, yours truly wasn't the winner.

     Entering the store and turning to the right, we spy the deli island in the front right corner of the building.

     The deli island is set up with the Pub Sub station front and center, facing shoppers entering the store. Hot foods are located to the right of the sub station facing the wall, with the sliced meats to the left of the subs facing floral. If I remember right, cheeses are in a case on the back of the island, facing produce. Speaking of produce, that's where I was standing to take this photo, as that department is what comes next following the deli island.

     Floral is in an island off to the side of produce, backing up to the first grocery aisle. Being right before Christmas when I took these photos, there was no shortage of poinsettias in the floral department!

     Turning around to view the rest of the (immaculately stacked) produce department, we find the meat and seafood counter in the back right corner. With meat and seafood in view, this is probably a good time for me to comment on the change that happened to Evergreen in early 2024 - if you haven't noticed already, the font used on the department signs is different. The change is pretty subtle (as the font is now more round than square like the original version), and it's a much less shocking font switch compared to when Classy Market 1.0 changed from the serif to sans-serif fonts. Still, the new font is the largest overhaul Evergreen has seen since it was first introduced in 2019, and this change seems to suggest Evergreen isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

     Leaving the meat and seafood service counter, as we continue along the back wall, we enter the dairy department. In these newer stores, most of the back wall coolers are home to dairy, as the meat coolers now line the right side wall next to produce.

     Moving into the grocery aisles, we begin with breakfast foods in aisle 1. In the background of this photo is the customer service counter, which has returned to the store's front wall in these 48M builds (although Publix has changed the design and placement of the counter since the 48M's debut, but it's still in the same general area on the front wall next to the entrance).

     Moving along to aisle 2, we find the international foods and canned goods.

     What's amazing is that Publix's stores can still look this nicely faced well after the grand opening. They're one of the few stores that can do this well on a consistent basis, probably because they're one of the few grocery chains that still has adequate salesfloor staffing all the time.

     Returning to the back wall, the bakery begins to come into view in the back left corner of the building.

     Two aisles of frozen foods are located in the center of the store, one of which is pictured above.

     The lights reflect off the shiny new terrazzo here in aisle 12, home to cleaning supplies.

     In the back left corner, the bakery resides all by itself between the dairy coolers and beer. I feel like Publix should have swapped the placement of the meat and seafood counter and the bakery in these 48M stores, as that would have made the grand aisle feel a little more complete compared to having the bakery on the opposite side of the store from the rest of the service departments.

     The store's last aisle, aisle 15, is home to beer and wine.

     Leaving aisle 15, we find the pharmacy in the front left corner of the store, its traditional location in most of Publix's designs for the last 2 decades. The pharmacy had yet to open for the day when I was here, which is why the shutters were pulled down.

     This look across the store's front end will be our last from ground level, as no tour of a 48M Publix would be complete without a few photos taken from the upper level dining area:

     Before we look out at the salesfloor, here's a quick look at the upper level dining area itself, which was super quiet this early in the morning (I was the only one up here besides a few employees that came up the stairs to access the offices/breakroom area behind me). Unlike a lot of other newer 48M stores, this location lacks an outdoor portion to the seating area (even though there are windows here overlooking a faux balcony).

     The part you've all been waiting for: the balcony photos of the salesfloor!

     You really get a different perspective of the store looking down at it from a vantage point like this, and hopefully it helps you people outside of Publix territory understand how one of these stores are laid out if you've never been in one.

     Back outside, the only occupant (so far) of the little strip center attached to the Publix building is the Publix Liquor store. Publix debuted this new signage for its liquor stores earlier in 2024 as well, beginning with the opening of the first Publix in Kentucky (which included the first Publix Liquors store outside of Florida).

     So that's what's new at Publix. While Publix has a lot of new stores lined up for 2025, it remains to be seen if any other breaking developments come out of Publix this year. Coming up in the near future though, Publix will be expanding further into Kentucky in 2025, and will also be breaking further into new parts of Virginia like Hampton Roads and towns along the I-81 corridor like Roanoke and Winchester. With the first Kentucky store only opening in 2024, I don't know if 2025 will be too soon for a reveal of Publix's 9th state (as the company still has a lot of infill work in Virginia and Kentucky to do), unless something opportunistic comes Publix's way at least. The year is still young, so we'll see what happens, and we'll let you know of any major developments that may come out of Publix in 2025 as well. 

More to come from me soon both here on MFR and over on my namesake blog, so until the next post,

AFB

Couldn't Save Enough - Former Save-A-Lot (Former Winn-Dixie) - Palm Bay, FL

 Today we'll take a look at one of my favorite things: A former Winn-Dixie

Save-A-Lot (former Winn-Dixie)
4700 Babcock St NE - Sabal Palms Plaza - Palm Bay, FL

This store started its life as a Winn-Dixie store in 1986, and would last until the late 1990s. I don't have a concrete closure date, but the last specific mention of the store was in 1996, the same year that Winn-Dixie filed an $8,000 permit for modifications to the structure- possibly to cover the removal of the sign, fixtures, etc? After this, the plaza is referred to as "Winn-Dixie Plaza" until 1998 in advertisements for other retailers in the center. 

As far as I can tell, the space remained vacant until around 2003, when the store was noted as "recently opened" in an article detailing Save-A-Lot's recent expansion in Brevard County. Being a discount, smaller format grocer, Save-A-Lot only actually took ~1/3 of the Winn-Dixie space, the rest being given to a mixture of Family Dollar and a few smaller inline spaces.

To start off, we'll take a tour of the Save-A-Lot when it was open. The photo at the top of the store's exterior, with the older Save-A-Lot logo set on top of plaza's heavily greebled facade. This style, which continues throughout the plaza, was added in a 2010-2011 remodel.

This peeling Entrance sign is one of the most prominent Winn-Dixie remnants. It's a shame the sun's done the damage it has.

Angling our camera down we face the vestibule, which is also largely unchanged from Winn-Dixie, except for being shortened by the subdivision. Even the battered silver railings are a hanger-on from the Marketplace days.

Walking into the store is where things start to change. The vestibule has been expanded into for sales space, and there's a wall at the end where it's been cut off by Family Dollar carving a flat entrance into the other side.

Taking a look at the checkouts, we see the fairly boxy ones that I've seen at other discount or semi-independent grocers, along with displays on folding tables. While the checkout cubes are similar to Winn-Dixies, they're not the same.

The strip of wall above the vestibule I believe would have once carried Winn-Dixie's "America's Supermarket" slogan, but it's long gone, replaced by Save-A-Lot's more basic line.

I only took this photo because these caramel apples, named "Happy Apples", activated a deeply buried memory of a creepypasta named "Happy Appy" I'd read as a certainly-too-young child, which focused on a paranormal kids show led by a talking apple. I haven't read it in a decade, and I'm sure it's terrible, so I wouldn't recommend searching.

Turning to the sales floor, it's a pretty standard discount grocer layout, though at least well stocked and organized. Rack shelving, products still in their flats and boxes, the works. As well as a cart of discounted items.

Much like Aldi, this Save-A-Lot had it's "coffin coolers" on the right side of the store, though in this case the far right of the store contains some overflow coolers, paper products, and a limited wine selection instead of bread.

For our final photo of this store's operating interior, we swing over the the back left corner of the store, to see the fresh meat coolers, which are beginning to look dated.

In the end, Save-A-Lot seems to have decided the whole store was a little dated, and they didn't want any more part in it. Why this store closed I'm not too sure, though Save-A-Lot has been going through a lot of shakeups recently, leading to the remodeling or closing of several stores. It also competes directly with a Publix across the street, though I imagine this store would have been the preferred option for people on lower income in the area, as it tends to have more older apartments/condominiums and retirees from what I've seen. Either way, Save-A-Lot shut the doors for the final time on August 27th, 2021.

I didn't notice the closure all the way until December 2nd that year, blindsided by the closure as I'd somehow missed it despite driving past it every day on the way to work. Save-A-Lot had quickly stripped out the store, taking with it the plaza's strongest "anchor".

This single shot encompasses basically the entire store's interior, showing how small the space really was, especially compared to a "full-size" grocer.

As for what will come here next? I'm not sure. The building seems in good condition, absent a few burned out bulbs, but the plaza isn't very strong. The other "big" tenants are Family Dollar, Cash America Pawn, Young's Buffet, and Citi Trends. The Publix center across the street is gearing up for a full demolition and rebuild, so maybe that will spur some activity. But only time will tell.

Until next time, this was Cape Kennedy Retail

Omens of Down Down - Winn-Dixie #2230 - Palm Bay West - Palm Bay, FL

I refer to decor packages a lot in this post, a guide to which can be found here. I have substituted "Post-Bankruptcy" for a recently unearthed semi-official name, "A Fresh Experience".

One day in June I noticed that my favorite local Winn-Dixie had gotten a new coat of paint. Time constraints meant I couldn't go inside, but the glimpse of the outside filled me with dread. My favorite decor packages are A Fresh Experience and Transformational, expensive and premium feeling packages rolled out post-bankruptcy but pre-SE Grocers acquisition. The Palm Bay West Winn-Dixie was one of the latter, being a rare Transformational store. But the paint put a bad feeling in my gut. It carried omens of Down Down. A month later I'd make my way out to this store again, and...

Oh no.

Winn-Dixie has a bad habit, at least in my opinion. By this point, it seems most of the remaining Marketplace decor stores are going to stay that way, until either more competition comes to town, or the lease runs out. So, most of those sit, while Winn-Dixie takes the initiative to remodel their newer stores, already equipped with the perfectly modern A Fresh Experience, Transformational, and Green Interior decors, and remodels them to the Down Down package, which I've always felt came off as a little cheap. It's grown on me, but I still prefer A Fresh Experience.

This store was previously what was known as a "Transformational" store, and that package can be seen in an old Albertsons Florida Blog post, from way back in 2015, just under 3 years after the decor was installed. Transformational was never a common decor package- Transformational remodels were expensive, something a cash-strapped, freshly non-bankrupt Winn-Dixie couldn't really deal with. A few failed attempts at cheapening the decor package would give way to it's retirement in 2014

 A remodeling spree in recent years, combined with Winn-Dixie's aforementioned bad habit, have reduced it's numbers greatly. It now nests with Purple & Maroon, on the verge of extinction within a few more remodeling waves.

Now, as much as I whine and complain, I don't hate Down Down. I used to, quite passionately. But that has long passed.

If anything, I think this is the most well-executed Down Down remodel I've seen. The high, open ceilings work well with it.

I always thought this store's soda aisle was a little odd. It's situated against a wall, on the other side of which is the Kitchen/Bakery.

No longer The Beef People, now they just sell MEAT.

The darkly colored beer & wine section.

A remodeled front end even features enhanced signage in the checkout coolers! New self-checkouts were also installed, but I didn't get a good shot of those.

As we exit the store, we're given a glimpse of the old logo, hanging on through a likely home-made sign board. This display of beer is blocking off what used to be a cafe/coffee area, which I thought was originally just closed for Covid safety reasons, but I now believe to have been removed in the remodel.

That rounds off our look at a newly (well, few months ago. My backlog is terrifyingly long for how short of a time I've been photographing retail) remodeled Winn-Dixie.

Until next time, this was Cape Kennedy Retail.