Publix Poised to Open
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Published on Wednesday, 17 June 2009 22:29
The aisles gleam and the neatly-stacked shelves stand poised in preparation for the grand opening of Publix in Ave Maria at 8 a.m. Thursday morning. Kelly Guarascio of Ave Maria Development will officially cut the Publ
ix-green ribbon at 7:45 a.m. to open the 28,000-foot. store.
"This is the smallest of our stores," Publix spokesperson Shannon Patten said as she took The Ave Herald on a tour of the new store, "but it has all the products people need. It may not have as many varieties of each product, but if there's something people want, all they have to do is ask for it and we're going to get it."
The full-service deli counter, which offers Boar's Head and Publix brand meats and cheeses as well as sandwiches, is in the front of the first aisle of the store. Farther down is the bakery department, featuring birthday cakes and an array of pastries. The produce department, located at the far end, will receive new produce deliveries seven days a week. "You can't get any fresher than that," Miss Patten notes.
The chipped ice lay empty in wait for the fish, "because we want to keep it as fresh as possible," Ms. Patten said. The seafood department also will offer freshly-made sushi, she said.
The meat department includes a number of Publix's Greenwise brand cuts, that are organic and natural. The Greeenwise sign, found in departments throughout the store, signals where customers can find an array of organic and natural products.
Other items include flowers, balloons for special occasions, gift cards, health and beauty products, pet supplies, beer, wine, mixers, lottery tickets and office/school supplies. "The store is stocking about three times the amount of school supplies that are typical of this size store," Ms. Patten said, by way of explaining how Publix wants to accommodate the needs of the local community. "We realize we are in a university town."
Ms. Patten explained that the store is equipped with a large generator, so that if the power goes out because of a hurricane or other storm, "people won't even know it. We'll be serving them before even Red Cross and FEMA can get established in the community."
The Ave Maria Publix is the company's newest store, but it keeps reminders of its long history through the display of black and white photographs on the walls. The photographs go back to the 1930s, shortly after George Jenkins opened the first Publix store in Winter Haven, FL.
