Publix #1842
eTown Exchange
Jacksonville, FL 32256
Hello, and welcome back to My Florida Retail Blog! In a rare change of events, you get to hang out with me here for two months in a row – how bizarre! Based on how busy I've been recently, I didn't feel like I had the time to properly prepare a post with all of my typical background information; furthermore, I injured my hand this past week which means I have even more incentive to publish a pre-written post. Good thing I got a head start on this one! At least most new Publix stores don't need much background research since they are . . . well . . . new. Yay, less work for me!
The only problem is, since I attended the grand opening, I took a boatload of pictures. Ohhhh, yes, this store was quite attractive to my phone's lens!
I arrived just before 7 AM on May 6, 2023, and made my way toward the small group of people forming a line outside. My first impression was, "wow, this façade looks nice compared to most modern Publixes!"
Contrary to my prior two grand opening experiences, there was no speech and not much commotion – I guess that's what I get for visiting a brand new store in deep green territory.
Another surprise is that the ATM wasn't quite ready for customers by the time the doors opened. Maybe it hadn't been stocked with cash yet?
And Presto! the doors magically slid open and I was inside the store: time to grab a buggy and a grand opening sales flyer!
It may not be my Publix, but I suppose it is somebody's (or else, why would they have built it in the first place).
Welcome to a pristine example of a 48M Deli Shrine. Thinking back, I don't recall giving a blog tour of a 48M despite me having seen quite a few by now. I suppose there is no time like the present to change that.
Directly in front of us is obviously the deli island, but more specifically, the Pub Sub Altar. This is convenient for grabbing a quick bite to eat; however, I've seen the queue get quite long where it begins to hinder the flow of traffic into the store. I remember one store I went to had the line reaching all the way back to where the lady in the blue shirt with the purple bag is standing, making things quite congested. I do appreciate the advertisement of the department, I just think it's one of several examples of where the designers missed the mark on this store's layout.
The other oddity about the choice of using an island is that all of the deli prep space is located behind the wall to the right where the "Grab & Go" sign is. I had no dog in that fight, but it seems extremely inconvenient for associates to have to cross the sales floor in order to retrieve more famous chicken tenders from the back. At least I've seen on plans where Publix installs a special coating on the terrazzo in this corner of the store to make it non-slip and / or stain resistant (If you look closely in person, you can see where the floor transitions between high gloss and matte between produce and the deli).
One thing that should hopefully stand out about this post is that a number of my pictures are better framed and exposed. What I really enjoy about grand openings is that I have no shame in breaking my phone out and taking plenty of photos in plain view. I figure if there is any excuse to be taking pictures inside a supermarket, it is when it is brand new!
Moreover, I really like how this photo of the customer service signage turned out.
Adjacent to the customer service counter was the Coke fountain machine and a newfangled coffee machine that I've only seen appear over the last couple of years. It's a shame that Publix got rid of the free coffee pots it used to offer! (Well, then again, I don't drink coffee.)
As for this portion of the front end of the store, it really looks similar to most Publixes from the last two decades. The biggest differences are the relocation of the customer service counter back to the front wall and the presence of the mezzanine dining area to the left.
I believe Publix opted to move the service counter to allow for a larger Instacart staging area and a dedicated door for employees to deliver drive-up orders, but this still seems like quite the about-face from what the chain has been doing since the mid-2000's. I wonder why Publix had such a big push to relocate the department to the familiar round counters only to revert to what it was doing in the Metallic Marketplace days. It also seems like the prominent round islands would help deter theft.
The right side of the deli counter is where shoppers can find the AFC Sushi and Asian bowls (if you haven't noticed, in the last month or so AFC rebranded all of its supermarket sushi counters to Zenshi – it's reassuring when the website still has the default WordPress icon as its favicon).
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| Random GIF I found of a Pub Sub |
I'm also guessing that the display bowls on the left represent the same Asian bowls that GreenWise Markets offered. If they are, I have to say that I wasn't impressed by the orange chicken bowl I tried. I think I'll stick to my chicken tender wraps.
Over in the grab & go section, we find some decadent desserts including some chocolate and strawberry cannoli.
If we want unaltered strawberries, we need to head on around the crowded corner to the produce department.
One of the defining pieces of Evergreen Revision 2 versus the original iteration was the reappearance of the round produce sign. I'm not sure why Publix revised this design choice, but my theory is that the company figured remodels would become easier to execute if the round signs in existing Sienna stores were simply reskinned to match the new look (which I've totally seen that they are).
Also, we get an unexpected look at the top of one of Publix' modern produce scales – much more discrete than the old hanging ones.
Other than the deli island, the rest of the grand aisle in a 48M reminds me of a Sienna-era 54M. The placement of the floral department and the "L" shaped produce coolers really help with this . . .
. . . along with the location of the seafood counter. The biggest difference is how the meat department is shoved into the back right corner which forces the cases to run along the wall adjacent to produce. A bit odd, if you ask me.
On second thought, I recently did my weekly grocery run in a 48M and was shocked when I was able to check off my entire list without leaving the grand aisle. The fresh meat was quite convenient over here, and the store wasn't crowded enough for this area to feel congested.
What isn't odd is this perfect display of avocados and garlic.
A small section of bulk goods is situated on the outskirts of produce, keeping in line with the trends of yesteryear.
If only that buggy wasn't in my way, this would have made for another perfect stock photo; I guess I have to keep it real sometimes.
Something else keeping it real is the 69¢/lb. bananas – a whole 9¢ more expensive than the ones we saw at Publix #1119 last time. Granted, the Atlanta store was photographed 7 months prior to this Jacksonville grand opening. I'd still guess that regional market factors play a larger role in this 15% discrepancy in the price of #4011s than simple inflation.
This is the site of the next traffic jam in the store, or the 48M's version of "the grand funnel". The transition between the produce department and the rear actionway pivots around the short end of the aforementioned "L" which seems to create some congestion during busy times. Today's traffic jam consisted of a cluster (or would it be called a flock? gaggle? bloat? unkindness? or maybe murder?) of Publix managers.
I managed to clear the jam without much delay to continue my journey down the rear speedway of the store: now only a small display of brioche bread stands in my way.
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| Aisle 2 |
Oui, oui, les aliments européens sont nichés dans l'allée deux! Aimez-vous une baguette?
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| Aisle 4 |
Wow, questa pasta sembra perfettamente posizionata sullo scaffale: è bellissima e BOGO!
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| Aisle 4 |
Los frijoles también están impecables. ¿Cuándo fue la última vez que viste algo tan bonito?
तत् अन्तर्राष्ट्रीयगलियारे अस्माकं दृष्टिः समाप्तं करिष्यति।
Here we can get a better view of the wall that obscures the deli prep space while we take our final look toward the front right corner . . .
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| Aisle 5 |
. . . before we continue our journey through the perfectly positioned products in the grocery aisles. I wish stores looked like this all the time!
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| Aisle 5 |
Since when did Florida have its own brand of tortilla chips?
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| Aisle 5 (?) |
I guess I was in a chipper mood today with all of these tortilla pix.
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| Aisle 7 |
Just take a look at all of those soft drinks too – they are immaculate!
As are the yogurt "desserts".
Bright. is not how I would describe the décor of Evergray! Although those crêpes do look delectable.
Almond, soy, cashew, banana, oat, pea, rice, or beef, you have your pick of milk in the Dairy section!
Lost?
I hope that nobody who is "here to pick up an order" thought they should walk all the way to the rear actionway of the store!
One thing that always surprises me is the quantity of air filters most Publix stores stock. Additionally, out of all of those sizes, they never have the one I actually need!
These sweet treats, like everything else in the store, look impeccable. The Sing Oil Sidekick is quite a fan of the flaky guava pastry seen on the second row. Keep an eye out for these elusive indulgences at your local store!
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| Is the "E" already crooked?! |
My final qualm with the 48M is the fact that the bakery is in the back left corner, all alone. But despite its solitary location appearing to be an afterthought, our blissful Publix Bakery can still rise to the occasion.
Somethings that didn't quite rise to my expectations were the muffins: they weren't jumbo! I've noticed that most Florida stores only have "standard" muffins in the four packs while the variety packs are "jumbo" like I find in Georgia. It makes me wonder if the Lakeland bakery plant has mostly older production lines which are tooled to make smaller muffins and has only one or two lines tooled to make the jumbo variety packs. With the Douglasville, GA, plant being newer, it seemingly just has the equipment to make the jumbo muffins found outside of Florida.
Passing the bakery, we find ourselves in alcohol land: part 1. Interestingly, I think Evergreen is the first Publix environment package to sign different varieties of beer (ex. Import, Domestic, & Craft) rather than just calling everything "Cold Beer". This store seems to have missed the boat on getting a "Craft Beer" sign, but we can still see two of the others along the right wall.
We also find the modern adaptation of Publix' old "Wine Simplified" bottle categorization with this informational sign explaining the red characterization symbols found on the price tags.
At the end of the aisle, we see where additional wine shelves butt right up against the pharmacy counter.
In the transition between OG Evergreen and what I call "revision 2", Publix decided to change the text on the front wall of the store to match the new font used on the "Welcome" signage . . . this was just an omen of things to come.
I do think the front speedway flows much better with the reusable bag rack positioned off to the side rather than in the center of the aisle. Anyhow, this will serve as our last view from the sales floor.
But we can't leave before saying hello to our good old friend: "Hi, 2011!"
That's right, folks, as I was checking out with my breakfast snacks, I realized something odd on the register screen: some teal pineapple graphics stating, "Love To Shop Here. Love To Save Here." Any seasoned Pubber should recognize this from the extensive marketing campaign of yesteryear (and the old freezer tag I found lurking around #1331), but I was initially caught off guard by its presence on a checkout screen in 2023. I did a double take, wondering if I had been clueless to the background's presence at other stores since then, before realizing that this must be something that simply slipped through the cracks. Does this come bundled in the default point of sale software Publix installs on every store computer? After all, 2010 is roughly around the time I first remember seeing these confidence monitors installed in my local store. The campaign also makes sense in the broader context of that time since it was launched during The Great Recession.
If I were to guess, I'd say that the picture was automatically replaced by an update later that day, despite every register sporting it for the grand opening. I can guarantee you I was one of the only people who gave it a second thought.
Regardless, additional pieces of that marketing campaign still live on elsewhere even to this day; I'd say "Love To Save Here." is a fitting line for all of your sales tags, wouldn't you?
As part of the grand opening, Publix was giving out bags inviting shoppers to "chill with us," but not to cool it or take it easy. What a shame that they couldn't include another throwback!
Well, that was quite the pleasurable tour, don't you think? But why should we stop there!
Shortly after popping upstairs to the mezzanine to eat breakfast, none other than Plato the Publixaurus appeared! I was certainly happy to see an old friend, although I preferred Plato more before he slimmed down in recent years – maybe he started using Ozempic? Maybe he was impacted by Michelle Obama's health initiatives? Nevertheless, this was the first time I ever heard Plato speak: he said, "follow me on Insta!"
I guess he meant "follow Publix"?
Instead of a bird's eye view of the store, I decided to treat my readers to a fish's eye view.
#Plato #Publixaurus #mezzanine #fisheye #grandopening #Publix #1842 #ArmedOccupationAct #OccupyTownship10South #Florida #Peninsula #parody #hashtag ## #Instagram #Blogger #Saturday #roof #floor #store #sun #moon #green #grass #sassafras #parody
This mezzanine shot reveals an aerial view of the subconscious crowd control measures that Publix has implemented with the store layout. Upon entering the front door, the center display (behind the man in the white shirt) naturally draws your eye to the right toward the Pub Sub Altar. Although there is a path to the left, upon reflecting on my experiences in 48Ms, I cannot remember seeing it as I walked through the door! It's like there is an invisible wall which pushes you into the Grand Produce Funnel. My guess is that this flow pattern reduces traffic jams across the front of the store because it shifts most of the inter-aisle movement to the rear actionway. This also increases sales of perishable goods and frees up more of the front actionway for queuing customers who are anxious to leave!
Well, we are back outside.
Why not continue the fun with a taste of alcohol land: part deux.
After all, a grand opening provides the perfect chance to take some rare shots from inside the liquor store!
What's most notable here, other than the fact that Evergreen makes for an extremely boring liquor store package, is how this space has a herringbone vinyl wood floor instead of your typical terrazzo.
I actually don't think any liquor store (other than possibly one carved out of an old portion of the sales floor) has terrazzo floors.
I didn't end up purchasing anything during my quick dip in the liquor land, but I would have been tempted if this grand opening featured an exclusive Publix Maker's Mark bottle.
How Floridian: a lone palm tree famed next to a brand new development.
As you saw above, it just so worked out that the bulk of this week's post was authored before I injured my hand; likewise, I'd typically mark this conclusion as the perfect occasion to take a summer sabbatical from the blog. On the other hand (that isn't broken), I recently received a surprise email with information to complete a post I've been chasing after for several years. You won't want to miss that one, which is set to make its debut over on my main blog in two weeks' time.
Lastly, if you didn't catch my recent posts about the first Winn-Dixie stores set to convert to Aldis (including a running list), be sure to check those out. (You know, it took the news close to 3 weeks to report on the Auburn Winn-Dixie set to convert after my post went live, and they still don't know all of the details – just saying!)
With that, I will see y'all again on the 29th!
- The Sing Oil Blogger
