We are kicking off our yearlong review of major national grocery store chains with a staple of the Southern United States: Publix. Publix supermarkets are a familiar sight in the Southeast - especially in Florida and Georgia. It's known for being a fairly low-cost, neighborhood-friendly grocery store chain and for its excellent house brand line of products.
To read what we like and don't like about Publix supermarkets, and to add your own feedback, click through.
Overall, we have had good experiences with Publix as a major supermarket chain. Here are the reasons we shopped there:
• Good selection of organic canned goods: Publix's own house brand of organics, Greenwise, was always a low-cost and welcome option. Our favorites are the canned garbanzo beans, organic apple juice, and tomatoes. They were relatively low-cost and always good quality.
• Great house brand: Publix has won major awards for the rebranding they went through several years ago. They repackaged all their house brand goods - everything from trash bags to popcorn got a makeover. Obviously packaging is not as important as the actual quality of the goods (although they were usually very good) but their clean, often witty packaging was a pleasure we took for granted.
• Good selection of hormone-free meats: Their house brand also included a selection of Greenwise meats - hormone-free chicken and beef. This was accessibly-priced meat that, again, we always found to be good quality.
• Good service and well-placed locations: Always had good service at Publix. The butchers in particular had no problem cutting up meat when asked. Also, there were two stores within walking distance of my apartment, and it was a treat to get to walk to the grocery store in a sprawling city.
And there were of course some things that gave us pause.
• Produce selection: We usually skipped the produce at Publix entirely, favoring a local greenmarket instead. This is par for the course at a major grocery store and we don't usually look for good produce at a chain anyway. The produce at Publix was usually flown in from somewhere far away, even though this location was in Florida and surrounded by great agricultural opportunities. We often went at night, too, and the produce would not be so fresh.
• Limited hours: The store in our neighborhood closed at 9pm! Coming from the north and 24-hour supermarkets, this was a shock.
• Crowded stores: Many of the stores in our city were small, having been built in the 60s, and there were very crowded aisles and limited selection given their small size.
What has been your experience with Publix?
[Every week we're reviewing and posting a grocery store chain or location - if you have feedback on one particular location of this chain, tell us and we'll post it. Our goal is to cover the major grocery store and market options all over the country; if you have a suggestion from your corner of the nation, please tell us that too.]
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Like-Cuban sandwiches made to order from the Publix deli in South Beach to be enjoyed on the beach of course with cold can(s) of beer.
view art's profile
I loved Publix when I lived in GA, I would often go there for lunch because the made to order subs were terrific, and less expensive than chains. I still go every chance than I get when travelling in the South.
view nadnuk's profile
I experienced Publix for the first time last March while visiting. I don't recall much about the experience or the food, but I LOVED the branding on the packaging. So distinctive and simple. I remember wanting to take something home (peanut butter, maybe?) because the packaging was so darling.
view phoneill's profile
My roommates laugh at my Publix brand addiction. There's just something so happy about opening your cabinet and seeing the white boxes with lines of color there. My favorite is the milk jugs with the cute cows on.
view sarahduckie's profile
The made to order subs on fresh baked bread with boars head meat- best hogie anywhere.
view rgg17's profile
This probably goes for most chains, but some Publix are definitely much better than others (at least here in Central FL); usually the ones in more upscale parts of town carry a better selection of organic and local foods. I do a trip to Whole Foods about once a month which is a 45 minute drive, but my local Publix (5 mins away) has plenty to hold me over.
view jhayne's profile
My husband and I had to laugh- in our town, Publix was known for being ridiculously expensive.
view mellon's profile
On limited hours, every Publix I've been to (a lot of them in Atlanta, South Florida and Orlando) is open 7am to 11pm every day.
view MiamiBeach's profile
What is the time frame for your review? It seems like you are reviewing in the past tense as if you havent been in one in a while. Or is that just AT style?
I live in the land of the Publix and I have no strong feelings either way. Its useful for certain things.
view SleepyDweller's profile
I moved out of the Southeast and back to the Midwest last year, so yes, I haven't been to Publix since August.
The location I frequented was in College Park (downtown Orlando) and it closed at 9. Most of the other nearby locations closed at 10. There just weren't many 24-hour groceries in town; I think there was one near campus.
view faith's profile
I love the customer service at Publix. I live in Chicago now but when we go home to TN we always find an excuse to go. Last time I was there I asked if they carried Naked Juice, the guy said no but they could try & get it in for me for next time. how great! that would never happen in Chicago!
view ashabee13's profile
I live in Tampa Bay and Publix is definately the major grocery store here. They have these gigantic analog scales at the front of their stores and it is sort of the norm here for people here to weigh themselves at the grocery store. There is always someone in the produce section if you want to know what is fresh. The home office and distribution center are in the Tampa Bay area, which means that lots of the produce and dairy products are either locally grown or not shipped very far. Publix has higher grade meats than other chain stores in this area. Most stores close at 10 p.m. here. Their everyday prices are moderate but they have very competitive weekly sales. Unfortunately they are often out of their advertised sales though. That is a big negative for me though having to go back to the store more than once for an item. Overall it is the store I shop the most.
view livehappy's profile