Saturday, October 22, 2022

Former Publix #341 - Coral Springs, FL (The Plaza at Royal Palm)

 

Publix #341
10301 Royal Palm Boulevard, Coral Springs, FL - The Plaza at Royal Palm

     In addition to today's AFB coverage of former Albertsons #4332 (now home to Publix #1311), we'll take this quick look at Publix's original home approximately a mile to the west of the current Publixsons. Before it gets thrown into my infinite abyss of a backlog, I figured the best time to write about the original Publix would be now, while we have the current store fresh on our minds. That being said, let's see what the original store is all about:


     Publix #341 opened on February 25, 1988 as the anchor to The Plaza at Royal Palm, a shopping center built at the northeastern corner of Royal Palm Boulevard and Coral Springs Drive. Unlike the much busier location of the current Publix store on the main retail strip, The Plaza at Royal Palm was built in a quieter, mostly residential area. By the time the Albertsons became available down the road, Publix was probably drawn to the building's larger size and more prominent location, especially with this store hitting the 20-year-old mark at the time. Publix left The Plaza at Royal Palm in mid-2009, leaving this building vacant.


     By the mid-2010's, the old Publix had been subdivided between a Bravo Supermarket and Monkey Joe's indoor inflatable playground. That's how it remains today - well, kind of, as the current ownership of the Bravo store is a bit murky (which I'll explain in a little bit).


     Bravo took up shop in the right half of the former Publix building, with Monkey Joe's taking the left side. Here we're looking at Publix's original right side entrance, which still uses the original doors from Publix. Bravo also carved out a secondary entrance further down along the front of the building.


     Unfortunately, Bravo gutted the entire interior of the former Publix, so everything we see here was installed new by Bravo. The only Publix remnant left in here are the floors, as Bravo retained and left exposed Publix's old terrazzo. It also appears that Bravo retained (but modified) a portion of Publix's upper level offices above the front end, a common feature in these late 1980's built Publix stores.


     Bravo carved their produce department out of the front right corner of the building, creating an alcove in the area that once housed Publix's "all purpose nook" (as the Sing Oil Blogger calls it). Bravo's stores are all owned independently, so the decor and quality of their stores can vary widely from location to location (as I've been in some very nice Bravo stores, yet I've also been in some really dumpy ones - this particular location was on the better end of the spectrum though). The decor in here is a package that Bravo must have created, although it's one I've never seen before (as Bravo has some standardized decor packages, but some owners will also do their own thing).


     From produce, we're looking down the right side of the building toward the seafood and meat counters. When Publix was here, this would have been home to the dairy wall.


     The meat and seafood counters come into view here, occupying the back right corner of the building.


     The meat coolers occupy the area where Publix's deli counter would have been located, although all traces of that have been removed. Some of the decor signs remind me a lot of Winn-Dixie's Post-Bankruptcy decor, although none of these signs were recycled from an old Winn-Dixie (although some Bravo stores do use recycled decor, but not this one).


     Spinning around 180 degrees, here's the remainder of Bravo's back wall, which ends approximately where Publix's own meat department would have begun.


     So one thing that was confusing me about this store (and still confuses me to this day) is that when I visited here, the sign on the outside of the building read "Key Foods". Key Foods is a New York-based supermarket cooperative (similar to Bravo), who recently entered Florida by getting existing Bravo owners to switch over to their brand. I thought this store was one that converted, but besides the exterior sign, everything else in the store still read Bravo. This location still comes up on Bravo's store locator too, but I still get results that Key Foods is here also (but Key Foods doesn't have much of a website, so I can confirm anything there either). What I'm trying to say is I have no idea what this store is currently branded as, but I'm just going to refer to it as Bravo since that's what the majority of the signs in the store still reference.


     Looking across the front end, we can see the windows for the upstairs offices much better here. Straight ahead is the "Deli Bakery", which we'll see a better shot of in a moment.


     While Bravo is officially a Hispanic-oriented supermarket (and carries a lot of specialty items to cater to that market), they still carry a decent amount of regular groceries as well. This aisle contained a lot of standard grocery products, like Ocean Spray juice and Cheerios.


     The wall straight ahead is the partition between Bravo and Monkey Joe's, with Monkey Joe's occupying the half of the building where Publix's service seafood counter, produce department, bakery, and frozen foods were located.


     Moving along to aisle 5, we find more of the specialty Hispanic products that Bravo is known for.



     The store's second to last aisle (which was unnumbered) was home to frozen foods.


     The very last aisle (which was shoved into an alcove in the back left corner due to the placement of the bakery/deli counter) was home to dairy. I've seen something similar to this in a few Albertsons stores before, but it always seems odd seeing dairy in a double-sided aisle of its own, rather than wrapping around the perimeter walls.


     While there was a small bakery and deli counter over here, like most Hispanic-oriented grocery stores in Florida, the bakery/deli skewed more toward being a lunch counter with prepared Hispanic foods you could order. I was actually here during breakfast time, and the breakfast offerings here were quite popular, as this was the only part of the store with any customers so early in the morning (and with a line too!).

     I also feel that 'deli bakery' sign has the strongest Winn-Dixie Post-Bankruptcy vibe to it as well.


     Our last interior photo looks across Bravo's front end, back toward the produce department. Lots of old Publix terrazzo visible here again, and in pretty decent shape too considering how chopped up this building became after Publix left.


     Back outside, here's a look across the front of the old Publix building, looking from Bravo toward Monkey Joe's. The windows to my right were the original Publix entry vestibule windows, out of which Bravo carved that secondary door (located straight ahead near that garbage can).


     Like Bravo, the Monkey Joe's side of the building was gutted to the bare walls too. Monkey Joe's also moved their main entrance to the front of the building as well, sealing off Publix's original left side entrance with some windows.


     And there you have it, former Publix #341! The exterior of this building is still very well preserved from Publix, to the point where I can picture Publix's logo up there were Monkey Joe's and Bravo's are now. 

     Anyway, I hope everyone liked this little bonus to today's AFB post, getting to explore Publix's origins in this part of town. I don't know when (or what) my next MFR installment will entail, but be sure to keep an eye out for anything new from myself or the other contributors in the meantime, and I still have my regularly scheduled posts over on AFB as well for your bi-weekly entertainment.

So until the next post,

AFB

10 comments:

  1. Anonymous in HoustonOctober 23, 2022 at 12:01 AM

    It's always nice to see some AFB bonus material here at MFR! It's also always nice to see a Florida grocer who isn't Publix or Winn-Dixie. That said, before you even said it, the thought crossed my mind that some of the decor here has a The Beef People vibe to it, but clearly that is just a coincidence. Well, maybe the owners of this Bravo got some inspiration from The Beef People, but I'm sure they'll never admit to it, lol.

    Although this store is supposed to be a Hispanic grocer, for the most part, the decor really doesn't give that impression. Unlike most of the Hispanic grocers here especially in modern times, the store does not even have bilingual decor. I suppose the fact that the decor looks Winn-Dixieish is indicative that this does not look like the Hispanic grocers here.

    Really, aside from the somewhat derivative decor, I can't really find any major problems here with this store. This looks like a nice alternative to Publix and Winn-Dixie and I'm sure I'd shop here if I was in this part of Florida. Of course, the Publixsons seen on AFB isn't bad either, but too much Publix would probably get quite boring after a while. I'm sure most Floridians would be quite confused by that statement though, lol.

    One thing this store and the Publixsons, and most Publixes for that matter, have in common are those pole-mounted security cameras which are all over the place. It seems that shopping in a Florida supermarket is like being in one of those Amazon stores with all the cameras so the cameras can determine which products people are buying so the customers don't have to check them out. Of course, here, there are all those cameras even though people do have to checkout! I wonder if the very obvious placement of cameras is simply a decoy to try to make it seem that the store is heavily surveilled.

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    1. I actually like this format of putting some bonus content related to an AFB post over on MFR, so we may be seeing more of this coming in the future too...

      Especially down in South Florida, these Hispanic grocery chains have a decent amount of pull in the grocery scene (since that part of the state has such a large Hispanic population). We'll be seeing some more of these various chains in the future, which range quite a bit in store size and atmosphere. Outside of South Florida the Hispanic chains become more limited in variety. Bravo and SEG's Fresco y Mas are the only Hispanic chains with any decent presence outside of the major metro areas.

      Now that you mention it, it is really strange this store doesn't have bilingual decor, as usually these stores do! I don't know who designed this decor or where Bravo got it from, but that is peculiar. Bravo's stores are very hit or miss - some are clean and well run, and I've been in some that are a total dump with a funny odor inside. The Coral Springs Bravo was certainly on the better end of that spectrum, and a nice alternative to all the Publix stores in the area.

      Yeah, Publix is a big fan of those pole-mounted security cameras. I can't speak for Publix, but at the store I work at, I know at least half of the "cameras" mounted to the ceiling are decoys. Publix doesn't have in-store loss prevention either (from what I understand), so I'd imagine most of those cameras are probably just for show (except for a select few in high-theft or important areas).

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  2. Nice post, the Publix plaza according to this https://www.docketbird.com/court-documents/Cohan-v-Publix-Super-Markets-Inc/Exhibit-C-Joint-Motion-to-Modify-Extend-the-Consent-Decree-O-Byrne-Hayden/flsd-9:2019-cv-80437-00022-003 was called Palm Springs Plaza when Publix was there and probably changed its name when it left.
    According to BC pictometry, when Publix was here, it had a REALLY tiny Publix logo on the front right corner of the building’s top part around where Bravo was. It’s possible Publix moved out in either very late 2009 or even early 2010 because the pictometry from December 22, 2009 STILL shows Publix here and the Albertsons still in the conversion process

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    1. That's interesting about the name of the plaza, but the new name could have been a way to try to pick up new tenants if the place was ailing after Publix left. I know it was mentioned on the other post that Publix most likely didn't open until the very beginning of 2010, and that seems to be the case from what everyone has found.

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    2. I believe the small logo is because of Coral Springs' draconian sign regulations, made famous in a Trivial Pursuit question about McDonald's Golden Arches. Case in point:
      https://www.publix.com/locations/1114-publix-at-coral-ridge

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  3. Thanks for the callout! It looks like this store was a 42N prototype, but it is a shame how there isn’t much left inside besides the terrazzo. It is also really weird to see a warehouse ceiling in one of these buildings instead of the typical dropped ceiling.

    I’m glad you mentioned that the current décor reminds you of Post-Bankruptcy because I was thinking the same thing! Maybe it is the font Bravo chose to use?

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    1. You're welcome! I was hoping to find more inside from Publix, but at least the outside was preserved in a way to make it obvious what this building used to be. I've been in a few former 42N's that had warehouse ceilings installed after Publix left, and it is an odd feeling seeing that.

      If that's not the same font as Post-Bankruptcy on those signs, it's really close to the one WD used!

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  4. Hi there AFB! Friendly neighborhood Key Food expert here to answer a couple of your questions and maybe offer some more information. Love this post!

    First off, let's be clear: this store is in fact very much a Key Food. It's also very much a brand-new Key Food, having converted I'd estimate in the last month and a half or so. Looking at the date on your post, there's a very good chance you were here in its first or second week of business as a Key Food. And the important thing about these Bravo-to-Key Food conversions is that ownership doesn't change. Bravo is a banner of White Plains, NY-based cooperative Krasdale Foods, and Key Food is one of the many banners of Matawan, NJ-based cooperative Key Food Stores. The reason Key Food's growth has been so explosive in Florida (looks like they have 52 stores in Florida right now, which all were opened in the past 4-5 years or so) is because the vast majority of them are not new stores, they're just conversions -- or existing supermarkets under their own names joining the cooperative.

    The reason you see so many examples of the Bravo name is likely two things. First, it's the fact that your visit would've been right after the conversion, and second, the fact that most of the NYC area cooperatives don't really care too much about their brand remaining after a conversion. It happens all the time. As far as the website, were you on the main Key Food website? It's quite a complete website (keyfood.com) and includes a pretty solid store locator along with, if you look at the drop-down menu on the contact us page, a full list of their locations. I have pulled that all out as screenshots and put it into a Word document, if you want me to send it to you. (Although I could also send you a scan of my own version, which has my notes all over it...)

    Apologies for the long comment, but there's a lot to talk about here. Second comment headed your way shortly...

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  5. (2/2) As for the decor, this comes from CRG Retail, which is responsible for a lot of the remodels in this category of stores. You can check out their work here: https://crgretail.com/#portfolio They do a lot of work for both Key Food and Krasdale. Looking at their portfolio alone, several of the Bravos they designed are now Key Foods, the CTown they did is Krasdale, the Universal store is Key Food... Krasdale doesn't really give their members decor packages, but the design firms frequently establish relationships with certain coops or owners. The Bravo decor package you might be more familiar with -- which might look a bit like this: https://www.marketreportblog.com/2020/12/tour-ctown-supermarkets-wrigley-park.html -- was designed by DY Design which doesn't seem to be so active in the Florida area these days. They do a lot of stores in my area, though, like this one: https://independent.marketreportblog.com/2022/07/update-green-way-markets-ridgewood-nj.html

    Not certain about the Florida strategy (as I've never been to a Key Food store in Florida), but in the NY metro area literally dozens of stores from Krasdale and other cooperatives like Associated Supermarket Group have been flipped to Key Food stores. Many of them coincide with a big renovation (which I don't believe was done here, since it wasn't that old to begin with), but I think the Key Food strategy in NY metro is much more mainstream than in Florida. A Key Food store in New York or the surrounding area may, or may not, have any specific ethnic flavor to it. Then again, they have too many banners to count in NY metro, so each one has its own positioning. Clearly, in Florida, they're really intent on the Key Food brand specifically.

    Key Food has said that they hope to double their Florida presence (to roughly 100 locations) by 2025, which is aggressive but not impossible, then close the gap between Florida and NYC metro. The obvious place to do that, in my opinion, is with the Florida playbook in the Carolinas, where they can easily convert the dozens of Compare Foods (ASG) stores to Key Food locations. I think it's not impossible they can actually do it -- they do have roughly 350-400 stores, after all, which is quite a significant store base, and they're clearly intent on growing. (They have at least 6 or 7 stores under construction in New Jersey as we speak, for example.)

    I hope that addresses some of what you're wondering! And believe me, any time you want to talk Key Food, sign me up. Thanks for showing us this store!

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    1. I actually visited this store in February 2022. At the time the only reference to Key Food anywhere in the store was that sign on the front of the building. Even the paper circular I grabbed from the front of the store said Bravo on it. I must have visited right after the conversion happened, only a week or two I'd suppose. The website I found that I was trying to use was this one: keyfooddeals.com, as that one had a few Florida locations mentioned on it (but must be a webpage created by a single owner for their stores only). I found this store on the regular keyfoods.com, and interestingly enough, it still comes up on Bravo's website too.

      I've been seeing a lot of Key Foods stores pop up lately (mostly old Bravo locations, like you mention), however I've seen a number of new Bravo stores popping up too. I'd imagine Bravo is trying to regain some stores after losing so many to Key Foods lately. Thinking about it now, I believe this was the only Key Foods store I've been to - I've been to a few of these stores as Bravo before they converted, but I don't recall being in any other Key Foods store before to compare the conversions (and how much from Bravo was left behind). I know Key Foods opened a store from scratch not to long ago in Kissimmee in an old Publix, and one of these days I'll try to check that store out, as it looks pretty nice.

      I wonder if CRG worked with Winn-Dixie at one point too, as their mid-2000's Post-Bankruptcy decor has a lot of similarities with the decor in this Bravo. A lot of the Bravo stores down here look similar to the Wrigley Park CTown, although the decor is a little more watered down than the version in Wrigley Park store: https://goo.gl/maps/Fn6cnQCsK3ZsmdpL9

      Clicking through a few of the Florida Key Foods conversions, most of them seemed to retain the decor Bravo had prior, so a large-scale renovation doesn't seem to be the common case here. All the Key Foods stores here lean Hispanic, and I've yet to encounter one that leans a different way. Between conversions and grabbing a few new stores in Orlando, South Florida, and Tampa, I think Key Foods could meet that goal of 100 stores in Florida by 2025. Their stores are typically on the smaller side so they can be squeezed into existing buildings easier (I've seen some take over old drug store spaces, which we have plenty of here), so it will be interesting watching this expansion happening.

      Thank you for answering these questions!

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