Losing a Publix

[fan-of-fans]

I found out one of the Publix supermarkets in my town is about to close and be demolished. It sounds funny, but I found that news sad. This is a big childhood store for me. I remember summers shopping there as a kid and each time it was remodeled. It dates back to the early 60s, so it is one of the older ones for sure.

It will be replaced, but it won't be the same for me. I know where almost everything is in this store, and it's the only one I can say that for.

It almost feels like losing a member of the family, in a way. Crazy to say that about a store I know. But, it was one of those things that you always thought would be there. In the back of my mind, I knew it wouldn't last forever, but I was a little shocked to hear the news. One day soon, I will look and it will be there no more. I will probably plan one last shopping trip there before it's gone, and think of the memories in each aisle.

Has anyone else ever felt this way about a store?

 

[wayupnorth]

Yes Cole, from the little corner stores as a kid to the A&P, First National, IGA, etc. only to be replaced by a few superstores, always not close by. But I guess that is what it is coming to as there is so little (supposid) markup in that industry it is hard to keep the doors open for the little guy unless they have a huge traffic volume and or are part of a big chain.

 

[turquoisedude]

For sure!  When I was a brat,  the 'big three' in the Montreal suburbs were A&P, Dominion, and Steinbergs.  A&P and Dominion were gone by the late 70s but Steinberg endured.  I had lots of memories of the weekly shopping being done there and the foods we bought.  I thought their house-brand soda and juices (Ice Castle) were the best;  I liked their version of Spruce Beer better than anyone else's.  A special treat was when we brought home one of their barbecued chickens in a foil bag.  As I gradually took over the running of the household due to my mother's health, I continued to shop at Steinbergs and continued to do so when I moved out on my own.  My first solo apartment and my first house were both within walking distance of a Steinberg store.  But as the market changed, Steinbergs was unable to keep up... By the early 90s they were struggling (lots of bad management decisions were made).  They attempted to open a no-frills warehouse style supermarket (like a Costco) but it was the final nail in the coffin... The chain officially closed in 1992, 5 years short of their 80th anniversary.   I still miss their bakery and their deli counter...  And I think they were the last big grocer in Quebec who still sold real horseradish root!  

 

[tolivac]

I was sort of sad when the Winn Dixie store my way closed.It is now a "big Lots" store.Liked the WD place much better!Used to shop there-was better and nicer than the Food Lion places.

 

[frigilux]

Montgomery Wards in Watertown, SD, where I lived 'til I was 8. Creaky wood floors; old-school cash registers that worked by punching in the price, then turning a crank on the side of it; the coldest water fountain. Appliances were downstairs.

 

[whirlcool]

How is Food Lion doing? They were here in Houston for awhule, then after 20/20 did the expose on how Food Lion mishandled meats in their meat dept. they all closed up and left town. This must have been in the mid to late 90's. But Houston is a very competitive food market. Safeway, Albertsons, and several others have tried to enter the market and have failed.

 

[cuffs054]

Fan, I understand your feelings. There is a Publix in Coral Gables that has been there before I was born. They have tried to "update" it but it is land locked and really can't get bigger. I even remember when they re-striped the parking lot because cars had gotten so much smaller. Same butcher was there forever. It's days are numbered and I will miss it. I still pine for the Andulusia Bakery that was across the street.

 

[mattl]

Funny, I just went through the sort of same thing, still recovering. We had a large Meijer store 2 miles from my home. I'd been shopping there for 40 + years. Many of my family worked there through college, and others worked there even longer. I knew the people and exactly where to find anything I wanted. Did about 90% of my shopping there 5% at Aldis and there rest at Kroger and other local stores. It closed in May for sketchy reasons, not clear on why.

They had built a new store in a small town not too far from here, right on the expressway, just as my store had been. Problem is its 9 miles away. Not easy to run out and get something on the spur of the moment or at 2AM as I often did. Also I have to factor in the price of gas-- anything I buy there has its price increased by the cost of about a galloon of gas. The grocery section is bigger, almost too big and the layout is designed to get you through the whole store if you need any HBA stuff.

I feel like a man without a store. I have a Krogers about 3 miles away, it's nice and new too, but it does not feel like "home". At this point I no longer enjoy grocery shopping. I almost dread it. Now 40% is Meijers, 30% Aldi and the rest other. Meijer has lost a lot of my money. It was not unusual for me to be there every other day, now it may be every other week. I hope my attitude improves in time.

 

[toploader55]

About 4 years ago here on the Cape, the Stop and Shop had to expand so they built a new one.
The Old store was so much more enjoyable. In the winter when I am not working, shopping is a daily event just to get out of the house and something to do. The older store was laid out nicely and even though you didn't know everyone that shopped there or employees by name, you would recognize the faces and say Hello or smile.

Enter the New Store...
Huge, can't find product easily, the customer and employee base seems like you're in a different state. A rare few familiar faces, and the general consensus is the New Store Sucks. No one likes shopping there anymore. So, now I go to While Paycheck, every so often Stop and Shop, and have a big running list and take a trip off Cape to BJs in Plymouth. At BJs I can have my tires on the truck rotated (at their tire center)while I shop in the store that is 10 times bigger than the one on the Cape, and then fuel up before heading back to the Sandbar. And sometimes schedule permitting I get a hold of John (coldspot66) and we'll have lunch and get caught up.
I do a lot of shopping off Cape in the winter because the prices are lower and the variety is ten fold.

 

[twintubdexter]

Fun to see the relationship people have with their food stores. You get comfortable with the layout and often with the employees. It seems the larger the store, the less likely you are react with the people who work there.  

 

We recently lost a medium-sized Pavilions (really just a glorified Safeway) near me. It seems when Safeway and Albertsons merged they had too many stores so they were forced to lose a few. The Pavilions was fun, partly because it catered to the "la-tee-da" Rancho Mirage crowd. There were always Bentley automobiles and exotic cars like Ferrari parked along the red curb because, heaven forbid, the owners might have to walk all the way from the lot like us common folk. Unbeknownst to them, they were like a carnival sideshow. The Pavilions is now something called Haggen, more pricey than Pavilions and things like the non-packaged butcher case with the filet minion and lobster tails are gone. Gone too are most of the "Desert Social Register" shoppers. I think they migrated to the nearby Bristol Farms or the new Whole Foods...both too steep for my pocketbook. 

 

Frankly, I miss the supermarkets of the 50's and 60's...just the right size, no bakery, no florist, no sushi bar. I used to walk to this store nearly every day for my non-driving mother. She walked there too. It was such a fine market. I still remember the names of some of the checkers. I think it's a Goodwill store today.

 

[alr2903]

I am sure they will rebuild and have an efficient set up for themselves as far as money goes.   Never mind the customer that feels like they are on a scavenger hunt to find a certain item...  There time is worth more than yours.

 

[twintubdexter]

Leave it to me to steer these topics off a cliff...

This is the type of 60's supermarket I long for, not too big with windows in front. The photo is from an old "Car 54 Where Are You" episode. I assume this store was in the Bronx since that's actually where the series was filmed. The link is a clip of the wonderful Charlotte Rae as character Sylvia Schnauzer "diet shopping" in the market. My friends think I'm crazy to watch stuff like this. I think it's great fun. Being crazy can be fun too.

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU3pmgm9slk

 

[tomturbomatic]

Did you ever wonder why Publix never had an instore hair salon?

 

[polkanut]

Here in Wausau the go to grocery store was Super 29 grocery store.  It was locally owned & operated by the Bautsch family for many years.  The photo is from a 1960's postcard looking from the NW corner of the store which was the liquor dept & service counter where you could pay all your utility bills, cash payroll checks, and buy money orders.  Their big claim to fame was the "Escaload"  It was a conveyor belt that ran underground, and hauled your groceries which had been packed in bins to a small shack.  The cashier would write your bin numbers on the back of your receipt which you then showed to the guys in the shack.  They would load your groceries in to your car, and away you went.  

         

Now we have a local chain called Trig's which is very nice, Quality Foods IGA (another small chain), County Market, Wal-Mart, and Aldi's.

 

[angus]

I miss the A & P. When we moved to Fairfield in the mid 1960s our town had several supermarkets - one of each at each end of town. Pantry Pride (subsidiary of Food Fair) was a filthy hole, Grand Union cramped, First National was OK, and Stop & Shop was OK. But the A&P was where my mother did most of her shopping. The stores were just the right size - not too big or small, always very clean and they had a decent meat department. Also once we got to the 1970's when the environmentalists went off the deep end over phosphates, A&P was the only chain where she could buy her phosphated Cheer, Ajax, Oxydol, Rinso and occasionally, Tide. All the other stores carried only the non phosphated versions.

I think the issue I have is that I don't necessarily need a superstore for most shopping. I too miss knowing where everything is and knowing everyone who works there. To me there is just no such thing as a "one stop" shopping store.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Cuffs, this Publix is sort of landlocked, in the middle of a shopping center. But the plan is to demolish the store and the stores on either side and have that whole wing as the new Publix. It sounds gigantic. It will be a nice store, but it won't be familiar.

Here we have two Publix, two Winn-Dixie, Aldi, Save-A-Lot, and Wal-Mart. Out of them all, this Publix is my favorite. The other Publix is set up like an Albertson's as that's what it used to be, but I still have trouble getting around it. And since I rarely shop there, I don't recognize anyone.

I always wondered what a Stop and Shop is? Here that is the name of a convenience store. And when I hear people talking about grocery shopping there, I think it sounds funny.

 

[firedome]

While I do miss the A & P....

of my childhood, we now have Wegman's, a really terrific store chain in the NE that treats their employees really well and is rated the #1 grocery chain in the nation almost every year. Really quality fresh vegs, bakery, meats, amazing selection of most things, and employees who bend over backwards to help. We were also impressed with the HyVee stores in Iowa, when Dear Daughter lived there, 2006-2011.

 

[turquoisedude]

"Escaload" underground conveyor

Geez, Tim, I thought only the Steinberg store in the Dorval Gardens Shopping Centre (which BTW was Canada's first planned suburban shopping mall, built in 1951) had a system like that!    I can only imagine what someone finding this hundreds of years from now will think it was for... 

 

[mtn1584]

A&P soon to be gone for good in the northeast!!!

A&P and their other banners.. WALDBAUMS, Pathmark, The Food Emporium and Superfrrsh will ALL be gone by the end of the year!!! Some will become Acme, some STOP&SHOP and others Key Food. About 180 stores are still up for sale with no buyers yet! We will find out their outcome in September!!

Btw Shaws left the state of Connecticut a few years ago only to return under the Acme banner in lower Fairfield County CT. Both chains are now owned by Albertsons!
While we are at it, Hannaford and Food Lion were just purchase by STOP&SHOP/Giant!!!
The supermarket wars are heating up!!!!!!
Stay tuned.......

I miss Finast/First National as they were my first real employer many years ago!
I am now a regular ShopRite and PriceRite shopper.
Mike