Publix #310 - Tampa, FL (Gandy Shopping Center)

Publix #310

3615 West Gandy Boulevard, Tampa, FL - Gandy Shopping Center

     Recently I was perusing Publix's list of upcoming store openings, and on it I saw Publix #1808 at Gandy Shopping Center (which as of the initial publishing of this post, opened a few days ago on March 2nd). Publix #1808 is a replacement for Publix #310, which was wiped away to make room for the new store. I happened to pay a visit to Publix #310 shortly before it was hauled away in pieces to the Hillsborough County Landfill, and I thought in light of the recent opening of its replacement, why not take a look back at the store that stood here for 35 years prior? Publix #310 is actually a pretty interesting store, and Publix's history at 3615 West Gandy Boulevard goes back a long ways, a really long ways actually:

     Interestingly, Publix #1808 will be the 3rd Publix store to sport the address 3615 West Gandy Boulevard. Publix first arrived at this site way back in 1954 with an Art Deco store, visible in the satellite image from 1969 above. The modest Art Deco Publix had an amazing run, remaining in operation from July 27, 1954 until it closed on November 17, 1986 - the last Publix store still operating out of one of these Art Deco buildings at the time of its closure. Publix had considered those old Art Deco buildings outdated since the 1960's, so it's quite impressive one of these lasted into the late 1980's, as many of these Art Deco stores were replaced with modern Wing Stores within a decade or so of opening.

     Publix #310 was built on the empty plot of land immediately behind the old store, with the old Art Deco building being demolished to create additional parking for its replacement, which opened on November 18, 1986. Above is an ad run in The Tampa Tribune announcing the grand opening of Publix #310, advertising some of the store's upgraded features, such as an in-store pharmacy counter. Publix #310 was actually one of the very first Publix stores to offer an in-store pharmacy, as the chain's very first pharmacy counter had only opened two weeks prior at store #301 in Altamonte Springs.

     Publix #310 had quite the classy facade, using the design you see above from 1986 until it remodeled to the Classy Market 3.0/Sienna decor package in the early 2010's. The original design of the facade included an additional "P" logo between the "Publix" and "Food & Pharmacy" signs, an unusual trait that appears to have been unique to this store. Publix #310 was an early "55E" prototype (per The Sing Oil Blogger's Publix store classification system), a somewhat rare deluxe prototype Publix used in the late 1980's for high volume locations (which this store was, and I feel pretty good that Publix #1808 will continue that legacy too). We'll talk more about this store's characteristics throughout the post, as this store had some unusual features due to its prototypical design for the 55E, in addition to being a a top-tier Publix location.

     Following its Classy Market 3.0 remodel, Publix removed the "P" logo in the middle of the facade, and just left it as an empty space between the signs. Without having looked at an older photo of this store, you probably would have never known that arch between the two signs served a purpose beyond being decorative. Even at 35 years old, this was a really nice Publix store both inside and out, and it was quite a shame to see this one get leveled (like so many others) in the name of progress. Publix #310 closed for good on November 6, 2021, with Publix #1808 officially replacing it with its opening on March 2, 2023. Even though Publix #1808 will be Publix's third building at this site, it's still impressive that Publix has kept a store going at this same location since 1954. The only Publix site that's housed a store for longer than Gandy Shopping Center is Orlando's famous College Park store, which has housed a Publix (also through 3 different buildings) continuously since 1951.

     All that being said, let's head inside for a look around at this store that once was. Entering the store through its right-side vestibule, we find the famous Classy Market 3.0/Sienna green bean welcome sign covered by a giant #GoBucs poster. I visited this store in the months following the Buccaneer's big Super Bowl win in 2021 - a year that will go down in sports history for Tampa Bay as two of the three professional sports teams in the region won their respective season championships that year (the Buccaneers winning the Super Bowl, and the Tampa Bay Lightning winning the Stanley Cup - now if only the Rays could have gone to and won the World Series that year!) Publix made these signs to commemorate the big wins that year for both the Buccaneers and the Lightening (who are typically called "the Bolts" by fans), and I have pictures of a number of these signs, as I did a lot of retail road tripping out this way in 2021.

     Leaving the vestibule and turning to the right, we find the store's "all purpose nook", an odd little corner built into these late 1980's/early 1990's Publix stores that didn't really have a specific purpose at the start, leading each individual store to create their own use for these spaces (hence the name). It was pretty common to see this corner used as a home for snack foods, wine, beverages, and in some 1990's builds, a bank branch. In later years Publix had a tendency to relocate or install the store's pharmacy counter over here too. However, here at Publix #310, we see this corner being used as a home for a Starbucks and the Floral department - a one-of-a-kind combination for the all-purpose nook!

     In this photo we can clearly see the floral sign, with the Starbucks counter poised along the front wall, with the flowers in front of that. Publix #310 was one of the initial 4 Publix stores to pilot a Starbucks counter in 2016, replacing a former dining nook and Publix Cafe. After those initial 4 locations, Publix opened a handful more Starbucks locations inside their stores, but I don't think we'll be seeing any more Pub-bucks locations popping up anytime soon. Publix #1808 will feature a new POURS counter instead of a Starbucks, as Publix seems to prefer the new hybrid POURS taproom/cafe format for in-store cafes these days.

     However, even though the new Publix will feature a POURS instead of a new Starbucks, fear not Starbucks addicts - all this time there's been a full-service Starbucks in the parking lot of this store for your convenience (standing roughly where the original Art Deco Publix stood too).

     Since this store had a rather large all-purpose nook, there was still plenty of room between Starbucks and floral for Publix to build a miniature pumpkin patch for the upcoming Halloween holiday. However, Floral and the Publix Cafe (now Starbucks) were not the original occupants of Publix #310's all-purpose nook. The Cafe was added in the Classy Market 3.0 remodel, and Floral was moved up here from next to produce. Greeting cards used to be kept in this nook, and here's a fun photo from 2013 showing when greeting cards still kept here, along with the original in-tact 1980's mirrored ceiling too!

     Leaving the modernized all-purpose nook, we turn the corner and enter the dairy department in aisle 1. As was typical in these 55E stores, a lower ceiling hangs over the coolers on the right side of the aisle abutting the wall. The "less deluxe" Publix stores from this era didn't do anything fancy with the dairy department (which is placed in the same spot), leaving it looking like any other aisle compared to something a little more grandiose like we see here.

     A secondary (or should I say, secondairy) sign for the dairy department was placed in the back right corner of the store, where the wall angles around toward the deli counter. The brown color from the dairy department spills over a bit into the deli, with the right edge of the salad bar under a piece of the brown wall. However, I wouldn't blame Publix for sloppiness on that part, as it looks like they painted that extra segment brown so everything would be symmetrical in this corner.

     In addition, over in this corner we also find the store's olive bar (the brown counter immediately in front of me in the above photo). The olive counter is another deluxe Publix feature only found at select higher-volume stores.

     Panning the camera to the left, we find the main deli counter, located in a small alcove along the back wall of the store. 

     I visited this store right around lunchtime, so the deli counter was hopping when I was here! The counter to my right was the salad bar, which was integrated into the main deli counter (an unusual set-up for a Publix, although finding a salad bar in a Publix from this era is pretty rare to being with, another testament to the volume this store must have done). Following the salad bar was the soup bar, followed by the hot food case and then the Pub Sub counter, with the main counter for sliced meats and cheeses in the alcove itself.

     The line for the Pub Sub counter was backing out into the main aisle, but that's nothing unusual for the lunch rush at Publix! In addition to the wall sign, this store also features a hanging deli sign above the back aisle too.

     As I mentioned before, the deli was really busy while I was here, so it was hard for me to get decent pictures in this area. As such, right before I took this picture, there was a tall cart sitting out in the aisle that the deli employees use to stock the coolers out front. With the cart in the way, I figured I could use that to try to be a little more discreet about my photo taking. Right after I hit the button on my phone to take the photo above (well, the first attempt, anyway), a deli employee popped out from the other side of the cart, scaring me a bit. She must have seen what I was doing, as she said to me, "Oh I'm sorry, let me move this cart out of the way so you can get a better view." She did just what she said and walked away with the cart, and I was able to get the nicer, less-obstructed-by-a-cart view we see above. However, while I got my photo, I was still in a bit of shock that I just had an employee see me take a picture and not care that I did, and on top of that, move her cart so I got a better view! See, this is why Publix is where shopping (and retail photography) is a pleasure!

     Leaving the hustle and bustle of the deli counter behind, let's cut down the much calmer international foods aisle and return to the front of the store for a moment:

     One thing you'll notice about these 55E stores is they're pretty wide, as we can see in this photo looking across the width of the building along the front actionway. The 55E just took the usual run-of-the-mill 1980's Publix store and stretched it out a bit, without altering much layout-wise from the smaller designs. A 55E Publix will run about 18 aisles long, compared to the usual 14 or so aisles in its smaller siblings. With the extra width, Publix was able to leave room to add a pharmacy counter along the front of the store, and add an extra alcove to the back, all of which we'll see in a little bit to get a full understanding of how this store was laid out.

     Returning to the grocery aisles, I'd like to point out another oddity about Publix #310 that I never noticed in any of the other 55E Publix stores I've been too - as we've seen in the photos so far, the perimeter of Publix #310 has a gray and white tile pattern for the floors (Publix's go-to tile design for expansions and acquired buildings in the 1990's). This store's terrazzo is only exposed in the center grocery aisles, like we see here. All the other 55E stores still had terrazzo throughout, so I don't know what happened here at Publix #310. I have heard in the past that in some really old stores, Publix would cover the terrazzo with tiles if it began to look bad or crack, so I'm wondering if that's what happened here, as I find it unusual that Publix would build a store from scratch and not include terrazzo throughout.

     Returning to the store's back wall, we now encounter the meat department following the deli counter. The meat coolers wrap around into the alcove, another one of the distinctive traits of these 55E stores. Most Publix stores from this era only have the deli in an alcove along the store's back wall, while the 55E has alcoves for the deli, the meat/seafood department, and (originally) the floral department (which is now home to the wine department here) - just some more detail to add to the grandiose feel of this deluxe store! (At least for the 1980's shopper - Publix #1808 takes deluxe to a whole new level for the chain, which I'll touch on toward the end of today's post).

     We'll return to the back wall in just a moment, but for now, back to the grocery aisles we go...

     In aisle 5 we find all your breakfast supplies...

     …followed by baby food and Gatorade here in aisle 7, a convenient combination for the parents whose kids keep them going all day!

     Moving along into aisle 8, we find the rest of the beverages (well, the beverages without a kick anyway)…

     …as you have to skip over to aisle 10 for the beer! (The stuff for the parents after chasing their kids around all day, when they're sick of drinking all that Gatorade!)

     The beer coolers in aisle 10 transition us into frozen foods, which occupy aisles 11 and 12. To give frozen foods its own feel, the ceiling drops lower between aisles 11 and 12, with Publix using that lower ceiling to mount the department signs on (at least for Classy Market 3.0/Sienna - I don't know if that was the case with the older packages).

     Each side of the lower ceiling has a "Frozen" sign, with a better look at the sign over here in aisle 12 (although the way it's placed doesn't make for the best photographic angles).

      Leaving Frozen Foods, here's a look into the meat and seafood alcove in the back of the store.

     The seafood service counter is located on an angle, with the main selection of cut fish on the angle itself...

     …and the dedicated sushi counter facing the main aisle. The vast majority of Publix's stores offer sushi at the seafood counter, however, sushi is typically given small billing on the signage (zoom into this photo for an example). That being said, it's extremely rare to see a full Classy Market 3.0/Sienna department sign for the sushi counter like we have here. This is the only such example of this sign I've come across in my travels, so I had to make sure I got a decent photo of it (after looping around this spot a few times waiting for people lingering at the counter to disappear).

     Now that we've stocked up on Sushi, we'll cut down aisle 14 and make our way toward the pharmacy counter:

     Seen here, the store's pharmacy counter is located between the left side entry door and the bakery. Currently, the pharmacy counter faces the check lanes, and is designed and decorated in a similar fashion to what you'd see in a newbuild Publix from the Classy Market 3.0/Sienna era. While the pharmacy was always located in this spot, originally, the counter faced the grocery aisles similar to this. Publix was known to heavily reconfigure and relocate the pharmacies in older stores during the Classy Market 2.5 or 3.0 remodels, so the modifications we see here were most likely done in the early 2010's.

     Looking away from the pharmacy counter, here's a peek around the side of the current pharmacy box for a look toward the store's last few grocery aisles and the bakery, located in the building's front left corner.

     We'll take a look at the bakery in a little bit, but first, let's zig-zag through the store's last few grocery aisles...

     Following the Sushi counter on the back wall, we find the third alcove. While this alcove is home to a large wine department these days, looking at photos of a 55E Publix with an older decor package, I believe floral was originally intended for this alcove. A large floral department next to produce would make sense, as that's how Publix originally designed their other 1980's stores as well (and as that older photo I linked to showed, floral wasn't originally in the all-purpose nook).

     While obviously not original, the Classy Market 3.0/Sienna "Wine" circle sign (which is typically reserved for the large wine departments in the modern 54M/deluxe prototype stores) looks nice here over the wine alcove. Even with the low ceilings in this store, it doesn't make the area feel claustrophobic either.

     Here's a final look across the store's back wall, as seen looking from the edge of produce back toward the wine, seafood, and deli alcoves.

     Returning to the grocery aisles, in aisle 16 we find health and beauty products. Hanging over this aisle were some older Publix "Health and Beauty Care" signs, which while not current, still seem to hang around at some of these older Publix stores.

     Moving along to aisle 17, we find this unusual double-wide aisle. The portion of the aisle to my right was home to the remainder of health and beauty as well as cosmetics, while the portion to my left (partially obscured by the racks of sunglasses) was home to beach stuff, local souvenirs, greeting cards, and magazines. To fill up the center of the aisle, Publix brought in some odds and ends relating to the merchandise in the aisle, like sunglasses to compliment the beach stuff, and gift bags to compliment the greeting cards. While this aisle came off as a weird mish-mash in this store's later years, I think this aisle was originally home to the wine department (anyone who's familiar with this store please correct me if I'm wrong).

     Finally making our way to the left side of the building, we enter the produce department. The photo above is an overview of the back wall of produce, with the window looking into the produce prep area.

     The produce department in this store doesn't look much different than a produce department from one of this store's smaller siblings built around the same time, and is about the same size as well.

     I think I took the above photo as another attempt at capturing an overview of this department, but I'm more drawn to the impeccably arranged tomatoes and avocados in those bins right now!

     In its smaller counterparts, we'd usually be looking into one of the frozen foods aisles right now from this spot. However, with frozen foods in the middle of the store, what we see here in aisle 18 is actually the juice cooler (to my left) and ice cream (the coolers to my right, up in the distance). Typically the ice cream coolers are located in the bakery alcove in these older Publix stores, which doesn't seem too strange when all the other frozen foods are in this part of the store right across from the bakery. However, it is strange to see ice cream over here all in its lonesome, a good 6 aisles down from the rest of its friends in the frozen food department!

     Walking down the remainder of aisle 18, we find ourselves in the bakery. The bakery counter itself was located against the building's left wall, with tables of various baked goods filling the bakery alcove.

     Looking straight into the bakery alcove, the service counter is just out of frame to my right, with Publix's order pickup staging area opposite that. Since the ice cream coolers usually occupy that wall, this is not a place where you commonly find the pickup staging area in an older Publix store. With the way the wall is designed, it looks like there were once some coolers on the back wall of the alcove, and probably on the wall where the pickup coolers are now (although any traces of these were probably wiped away when the pharmacy was rebuilt).

     Our circuit of the store complete, here's a look across the store's large front end.

     You just have to love the faux skylight Publix installed in these older stores! If I recall right, these 55E stores were the ones to originally pilot the faux skylights over the front end, with the lights later being incorporated into the other Publix models going forward.

     In front of the check lanes is the service desk, with a row of offices on the mezzanine above.

     From the service desk, we'll pop out of the left side doors, outside of which we see this. Adjoining the Publix building were these two small storefronts, the one closest to me containing the Publix liquor store, and the one on the end housing a nail salon. The nail salon got the boot when Publix tore down the old store, as the larger replacement only allowed enough space for the main Publix store and the liquor store to return.

     From the parking lot, here's a look at the liquor store's facade, which isn't anything too crazy.

     Looking away from the liquor store, here's a look back at the main store's facade one last time, a final look at the Publix store that served the shoppers of South Tampa from 1986-2021. Publix #1808 will continue Publix's 70 year journey at this site even longer, hopefully allowing Publix to hit the 100 year mark at 3615 West Gandy Boulevard. Publix #1808 looks like a nice store, and is supposedly a new deluxe prototype Publix is experimenting with, featuring a few modifications from the older 54M that was previously used as the deluxe design (such as a relocated bakery, the addition of POURS, and expanding the mezzanine dining balcony to the larger prototype as well). Reading that article and looking at the photos in it, Publix #1808 takes the best of the latest Greenwise stores and incorporates that into one very grand Publix, which I think is a good idea. If I end up in South Tampa any time soon I'll have to check out the new store, grab a craft soda from POURS, and head up to the balcony and look out into the parking lot where the original Art Deco building stood, a little building that no one could have ever fathomed back in 1954 would turn into the 60,000 square foot deluxe shopping paradise staring back at it today!

     So that's all I have for now on MFR, but be sure to join me again next week over on AFB for another new adventure into the former Albertsons stores in Florida!

The Albertsons Florida Blogger