Sunday, October 6, 2019

Former Albertsons #4333 - Longwood, FL (Wekiva Springs)


Albertsons #4333 / Publix #1313 / Publix #1428
2381 West State Route 434, Longwood, FL - Springs Plaza

     Long before anyone knew what Disney World was, people came flocking to this part of Longwood to visit the crystal blue waters of the nearby Wekiwa Spring (or Wekiva Spring - both spellings are used and both seem to be interpreted as correct). Additionally, long before Albertsons built their store on the eastern side of Longwood on US 17-92, Longwood residents in search of weekly deals at Albertsons had to come here. Well, I guess it wasn't too long of a wait before the second store opened, as there was only a three year gap between the opening of the two stores. Both of the Longwood Albertsons stores also suffered the same fate in the end too, but we'll get to that part of the story momentarily...


     Longwood's original Albertsons store, #4333, opened in 1979 in the Wekiva Springs neighborhood of town. The Wekiva Springs area is a rather nice part of town, complete with two golf courses, subdivisions with nice suburban homes and mini-mansions, and of course, the namesake spring (which is an extremely popular tourist attraction). This part of Longwood was really beginning to blossom around the time of Albertsons' arrival, with the construction of this store also bringing with it an attached open-air mini-mall to serve the area. This Skaggs model store received minor upgrades through the years, however the biggest change wouldn't happen until late 1998. At that time, this store, alongside the Altamonte Springs Albertsons, received major updating that included interior reconfiguration and reconstruction, a facade remodel, and a new liquor store and bank. The Blue and Green Awning decor was also added during the remodel. This location, alongside the Altamonte Springs store down the road, were Albertsons' highest performing locations in Seminole County in the late 1990's according to an article I read. Even with all the remodeling, this store managed to retain the majority of its original river rock exterior, as can be seen in the two prior photos I downloaded from a realty website a long time ago.


     While this store was a strong performer for Albertsons, it would eventually end up as one of the 49 locations that Albertsons sold to Publix in 2008. The majority of the stores Publix purchased from Albertsons were high-volume and profitable locations, so it wasn't like Albertsons was dumping their worst stores onto Publix in that sale. Publix did a quick remodel of this store before it reopened as Publix #1313, including some new paint and decor on the inside, which can be seen in the next image:


     The last two images were posted on fouresquare.com by users Thomas and Mark, showing Albertsons #4333 during its tenure as Publix. This place still felt very much like an Albertsons on the inside after Publix moved in, which was the case for many of these Publixsons stores back in the day. The above image looks down some of the center grocery aisles, giving everyone an overview of what this store looked like around 2012.


     Now remember, I did say this was a very high volume Albertsons store. And a high volume Albertsons store would then translate to an even higher volume Publix. Now wanting to let sales get impeded by operating out of a 34 year old building constructed by a competitor, Publix felt it was time for a change here in Wekiva Springs. In late 2012, the oh-so-unlucky Publix store #1313 became one of the first Albertsons locations Publix bought in 2008 selected to be demolished and rebuilt. Shortly after Christmas 2012, Publix closed this store and began demolition of the old Albertsons building. Only being open for 4 years, Publix #1313 was one of the shortest lived Publix stores ever. (Remember, Publix rarely ever closes a store outright, so you never hear of crazy crash-and-burn situations with any of their stores like you do with some other chains. Even the handful of stores Publix has closed outright lasted a good 10+ years!). After a few months of construction, Publix #1428 rose from the site of the old Wekiva Springs Albertsons. Publix #1428 held its grand opening on November 14, 2013. While this is a very nice 54M Publix store (which is about the same size as the Albertsons building it replaced), it's uniqueness factor certainly isn't as high compared to what used to be here.


     Considering that we've seen modern Publix stores of this same design before, both here and on My Florida Retail, my first visit to this store was rather short. I got a handful of photos inside since I was already here, but with nothing left from Albertsons to report back with, I didn't take many interior photos. However, a year later I happened to be in this area again for non-retail related purposes (although in complete AFB fashion, I still turned that trip into a makeshift retail road trip). I needed to kill some time in the area, so I returned to this Publix and ended up coming out with a complete store tour in the end. So while we won't be seeing many more Albertsons relics again until the end of this post, we'll still take a stroll through the Publix in addition to a little walk through the odd attached mini-mall. While the Albertsons building may be long gone, I still found some stuff to report back with here in Wekiva Springs that dates back to this site's Albertsons days! Anyway, here are a few more exterior photos of the new Publix before we head into the store:


     This store got a nice custom-designed facade, which looks to have a little bit of an "old Florida" styling to it.


     Here's a close-up of the entryway, a photo which will transition us to the interior of the store...


     As usual with these modern Publix stores, the bakery is located in the front right corner of the building. Prior to the 1998 remodel, this store would have had a reverse layout of the Altamonte Springs Albertsons. After the remodel, I'm not 100% sure if the layout was changed to be identical to the Altamonte Springs store, or if it was left in the reversed orientation.


     Turning around, here's a look back toward the bakery from the center of the produce department. As usual, this store has the standard issue version of Classy Market 3.0 that's been around for a while now. However, our supermarket decor researcher extraordinaire nwretail recently discovered for me the actual name for Classy Market 3.0 decor. What is it you ask? I'll give all of you a moment to come up with a wild guess before I reveal the name after the next photo.


     OK, now that you all have made up some really random names for this decor package, it's time for the big reveal. Classy Market 3.0's real name is 'Sienna'. I have absolutely no idea where Publix pulled the name Sienna fron, but that is the name of this decor according to some construction plans nwretail sent to me. However, Classy Market seems to have ingrained itself in our little corner of the internet, much like Acme Style's made up decor names for the Albertsons decor packages. While we now know the true identity of Classy Market 3.0, my name is also here to stay. Also according to some documents nwretail recently sent me, Classy Market 3.0's days may be numbered like I've been speculating. However, more on that another time, once I get some more details...

     Decor tangents aside, returning our attention to Publix #1428, here we see the deli counter. The deli is located along the right side wall following the bakery.


     Here's our first look into the back right corner of the store, the wine department peeking out in the background of this image.


     I didn't get a close-up photo of it, but this store does have a specialty cheese counter located across from the wines. You can see that department's sign in the above image.


     I'm sure you're tired of hearing me 'wine' about how Publix tore down the old Albertsons building that once stood here. However, I can't complain too much, as Albertsons still lives on in a 'spirited' form here! (That second cheesy pun will make much more sense when we get to the end of this post). And speaking of cheesy things, the specialty cheese counter would have been directly behind me when I took this picture. The department setup makes a lot of sense, because you can't have wine without cheese (or cheesy puns!). And yes, I promise there will not be any more puns for the remainder of this post.


     Leaving the fresh departments and Publix's "Grand Aisle", here's a look across the back of the store, as seen from the edge of the wine department.


     The 54M and larger Publix prototypes get drop ceilings installed over the grocery aisles, as you can see in the above photo.


     The customer service desk, which is located immediately to the left upon entering. In more recent remodels and new stores, this round style desk has been getting replaced by this much smaller booth-style service desk.


     As I was walking by the service desk, I also took a photo of the "key to the store" (since it was hung in an easy to photograph spot at the edge of the service desk). These keys are presented to the store manager during a ceremony that occurs the night before a new Publix store opens, featuring the grand opening date, store number, and a giant metal key. Usually these keys can be found hung behind the service desk, although I've seen a few stores put them elsewhere (such as next to the exit doors). These keys are a longstanding tradition that's part of Publix grand opening ceremonies. You can read more about those ceremonies at the official Publix Blog by going to this link.


     Here's a look across the front of the store, with the pharmacy visible in the background.


     More from the grocery aisles...



     Moving further to the left side of the store, the back wall transitions from meats to lunch meats to dairy, with dairy in the back left corner.


     This picture of Publix's founder, George Jenkins, hangs on the side of one of the coolers in the frozen foods department. This is a common spot to find this picture, especially in the newer stores.


     Frozen foods take up two aisles in the center of the building. The drop ceiling goes away in this part of the store to allow for pipes and vents to connect to the coolers from above.


     Here's another look across the back of the store. Since this store opened in 2013, it received an older version of the usual Classy Market 3.0 aisle signs. The signs in this store are essentially a modified version of the ones from Classy Market 2.0 and 2.5.


     Moving closer to the pharmacy counter, here's a look down one of the aisles of health and beauty products. Like most other Publix stores built in recent years, there are a few short aisles of health and beauty products in front of the pharmacy counter as well.



     Dairy wraps around from the back left corner and runs along the store's left side wall.


     The front left corner of the store is home to the pharmacy counter. I like the design of the newer Publix pharmacies, especially with the addition of the shiny glass tiles on the counter and the overhang.


     Pictured here are some of those additional aisles of health and beauty products I mentioned before, these aisles placed in front of the pharmacy counter.


     Returning to the front end once again, we've seen just about all there is to see in here.


     Here's one last look toward the front registers as I head toward the exit doors...


     Back outside, this is where things begin to get a little more interesting in terms of this site's history as an Albertsons store. Here we're looking from Publix's front walkway toward the mini-mall portion of this shopping center. However, this is a bit of a strange mini-mall...


     Beyond the Publix building is this directory sign for the mini-mall. While I keep calling this place a mini-mall, it's essentially a "reversed mall". While there are open air corridors linking all the mall buildings together, all of the storefronts face the road and the parking lots, not the internal corridors. However, the internal corridors aren't service corridors either. The corridors are landscaped, have benches, and are open to the public to walk through. Some of the businesses have doors linking to the corridors, but they're either emergency exits or employee entrances. It was an odd arrangement, which we'll see in more detail in the following images.


     Stepping away from Publix, here's our first look at the mini-mall structure. The mini-mall wasn't touched at all during Publix's rebuild, as the mall portion of the plaza is owned separately from the supermarket building. The front portion of the mini-mall contained quite a few restaurants like Tijuana Flats, FirstWatch, and Starbucks, along with a few other small businesses and offices.



     A covered walkways wraps around all the buildings, as well as the various planters.


     Moving into the center portion of the mini-mall, here's a look down the walkway that runs from the front to the back portion of the mall. One business, a women's clothing boutique, faces the walkway, but otherwise there isn't anything else back here. This walkway primarily serves as a way to cut between the front and back portions of the strip of stores.



     Typically I'm pretty good at remembering the orientation of these places after I photograph them, even after sitting on the photos for years. However, this place got the best of me. I can't remember which way we're looking in some of these photos, like this one. This photo does give us an overview of what these interior corridors are all about though: neatly landscaped concrete walkways with hardly anyone in sight.


     I believe this photo looks into the "center court". The planter with the big tree marks the crossroads of the two main interior walkways.


     I believe the wall pictured on the left is the side wall of the Publix building.


     I am able to recall this corridor from memory, as this was the one that ran from the Publix building to the far end of the plaza. While the corridor looks nicely kept, it would have been better if there were actual storefronts that faced this walkway!


     Here's another look back toward the "center court".


     Walking the center corridor from Publix to the far end of the plaza, the mini-mall has a change in elevation. The stairs before me designate the change between the higher half of the plaza and the lower half.


     We're going to poke out the back of the plaza for a quick peek at the exterior storefronts. The restaurant Graffiti Junktion (whose sign is visible on the tower) was one of the bigger draws in the back portion of the plaza. There was also a Goodwill Donation center back here too, but this was clearly the sleepier side of the plaza compared to the front portion.


     The Goodwill Donation Center is pictured here, as well as a few other small businesses. The Graffiti Junktion building was mostly empty when I visited this place, although a Google Search also seems to suggest that Graffiti Junktion has closed since my visits here.


     Anyway, back into the interior corridors we go. I do like the design of the interior corridors here, with the use of awnings and large trees to keep the corridors shady and cool in the hot Florida sun. The awnings are also something that comes in handy during Florida's daily summertime thunderstorms to keep shoppers dry. This place was designed well to be an outdoor mini-mall, except for the fact that all the storefronts face the parking lot rather than these internal corridors!



     The end of the corridor is marked by that large tower, which is a common architectural theme throughout this plaza.


     Spinning back around front, here are a few final photos of the mini-mall's facade as we head back toward the Publix building.



     One final exterior shot of the new Publix building, as seen from the mini-mall.


     Publix's facade design continues along the right side of the building as well, making the side of the building look much more appealing when driving by on Wekiva Springs Road.

     Now that we've covered just about everything from the former Wekiva Springs Albertsons, let's jump into some historic aerial images courtesy of Google Earth and historicaerials.com:


Former Albertsons #4333 - 2018 - The new Publix building is in place here. This image also give us an overview of the entirety of the plaza, the mini-mall being the mass of buildings to the left of the Publix. You'll also notice a small building at the bottom right corner of the satellite image. That building we'll get to in just a moment...


Former Albertsons #4333 - 2013 - The old Albertsons building is in the midst of demolition at this time. It's not often you see Google Earth capture something like this! This satellite image is what originally tipped me off to this store's fate way back when too.


Since it was interesting, I'm including this close-up image of the old Albertsons building as it was being demolished. It looks like the demolition crew entered through the right side of the building and went at it on this place.


Former Albertsons #4333 - 2010 - Publixsons at this point.


Albertsons #4333 - 2002


Albertsons #4333 - 1995 - The pre-1998 design of the exterior is visible here.


Future Albertsons #4333 - 1980 - This store was only a year old at this point.


Future Albertsons #4333 - 1969 - There wasn't much too see here in 1969.


      Before we finish this post, I have one last building to address: the detached liquor store. I hinted at this building a few times during today's post, as the liquor store is the last thing standing on this property from Albertsons. Albertsons' 90's exterior design is alive and well here at the liquor store, the last trace of our old friend here in Wekiva Springs. Albertsons moved the liquor store out to the parking lot during the 1998 remodel from its previous location in the front right corner of the main building. The liquor store building predates 1998 though, so this must have been a small strip of stores or something else prior to Albertsons taking this building over for themselves. 


     Publix has hardly done anything to the liquor store building in the 10 years they've been operating at this site, and the interior looked fairly original too from what I saw through the windows.


     Even though Publix demolished the main store, I was still able to begin and end this post with what little remained of the supermarket building that stood on this site from 1979 until 2013. While Publix tried their hardest to wipe away all traces of Albertsons here in Wekiva Springs, the good old liquor store came through for us again in the end! Also to note, the former Albertsons store on the other side of Longwood at US 17-92 and Route 434 has since been town down as well. That Albertsons closed in June 2012 and sat empty until early 2019, when demolition began so a new LA Fitness could be built at the site. I linked to this at the beginning of today's post, but here's my coverage of the other Longwood Albertsons from a few years ago, showing the building in its abandoned form if you wanted to skim through that again.

     Anyway, next time on AFB we'll begin to jump into some more fun stuff; the stuff I've been looking forward to closing out the year with. The next four feature posts on the blog will all be supermarket conversions of some kind, featuring a wide selection of old grocery store buildings turning into other grocery stores. As usual we'll see Publix, Albertsons, and Winn-Dixie in some shape or form, but some others may be popping in too, including some stores we've yet to see and discuss here on AFB. After those 4 stores, the last post of the year will feature a super rare decor package from a certain supermarket chain, so rare I think it only exists at this one particular location. So that's what we have to close out the year with on AFB, so be sure to keep coming back for all the fun! (I think I've teased you enough with that preview!) Our next destination is a supermarket conversion that relates to Publix, but not in the way you probably think...

So until the next post, 

The Albertsons Florida Blogger

31 comments:

  1. This was a high volume store!

    https://youtu.be/Q0CoKXMIf_Q

    The layout of the little strip mall(s) to the left look more like some military compound (from above), than a shopping center.

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    1. Sure was! And thanks for the link to that video!

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    2. You're welcome! This appears to be the most popular post of 2019!!
      Oxiconton anyone? Sheesh! That was a big loss to the Albertsons pharmacy that day!

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  2. Wow, that mini-mall is strange indeed! Also cool to know the official name for the décor. I wonder what the names were for the prior packages too, since those were so similar. Exciting to learn Publix may potentially have new décor on the way as well - maybe it'll actually look different than regular old Classy Market for once! And finally, can't wait for all the rest of the posts to close out the year - those sound awesome!

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    1. It is. I'm curious to know what the builders of that little plaza were going for originally. Unless nwretail comes up with some old Publix documents, the real identities of Classy Market 1.0, 2.0, and 2.5 will probably remain a mystery. I was curious as to what the official names of any of Publix's decor packages was, as I'd never found one before. I do have the name for the new gray and green decor too, but I'll reveal that when I get around to doing a post on the new decor.

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  3. This is "my" Publix as I live about a mile away and pass it every day going to and from work, so I can fill in some holes.

    I moved to the area in 2007 and I only went into Albertsons a handful of times, so I can't tell you what the store was like inside when it was an Albertsons. While it may have been a high volume Albertsons, judging from the parking lot I can tell you it was an even higher volume Publixsons and and still higher volume Publix.

    After the building was converted to Publix #1313 (crazy number!) I started shopping there regularly. It was a very unusual layout for a Publix, but I kind of liked the quirkiness. It was much better than Publix #301 a mile away at Jamestown Plaza. That store appears to have been built in the late '70s or early 80's and has only had décor updates over the years, although I would guess it had the pharmacy and enclosed vestibule added at some point. I thought 301 would have closed with 1313/1428 literally one mile away, but it's still kicking around. The next closest Publix to 1313/1428 is #865 at Wekiva Springs Road and Hunt Club Boulevard, but for some reason it's one of the smaller format store that Publix usually builds in urban areas.

    The deli in 1313 was in the left front corner of the building, the bakery was next to it. Produce took up the left rear corner. Frozen foods and the dairy case were on the right side of the store. The pharmacy was in a box in the middle of the store near frozen foods. The old Orlando Sentinel article from 1998 mentioned a bank and a coffee bar, but I have no idea where those would have been. There was no sign of them when Publix took over.

    During the demolition and rebuild Publix reconfigured the parking lot on the right side of the building and added some planters to the parking lot along the front. I think the parking lot is actually little smaller now. The liquor store remained open during construction.

    Earlier this year, Publix did a décor update. They changed some of the murals inside the store, like over the wine department and over by the pharmacy. Sadly, they also removed the vintage Publix photos that were scattered around the store..

    There have been some recent changes to the rest of the plaza. The plaza itself had some renovations to the exterior early this year. Much of the wood work was repaired or replaced, there was work on the roof, and they repainted the buildings. Graffiti Junktion closed earlier this year, but there's a new restaurant in that space called The Back Porch. The Starbucks closed at the beginning of the year. That was a surprise, but parking on weekend mornings was near impossible because of the First Watch next door. The Greek restaurant has relocated to the back of the plaza, which really isn't a bad location since it faces Wekiva Springs Road. The Goodwill donation station used to operate out of a semi trailer stationed on the right side of the Albertsons building.

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    1. Thanks for all that information! This store was extremely busy when I visited those two times, and the satellite images also show this was quite the busy place going back into the Albertsons days too. Publix got a good deal on this place when they bought it from Albertsons, as this store must make a ton of money.

      From what you describe, Publix #1313 kept the original Albertsons layout from their 1998 remodel (which I figured, as Publix's conversions of those stores they bought in 2008 were rather simplistic). Publix's modern stores all have a modernized, streamlined feel to them. While that's not bad at all, it's always fun to find the more unusual Publix stores to make shopping a little more interesting. As was mentioned below, Publix #301 down the road was a late 80's store home to the first Publix pharmacy, giving that store some significance. Publix is no stranger to operating stores really close to each other. That 2008 buyout gave Publix new locations literally across the street from each other, and most of the duplications were kept. You also have the situation with stores 1661 and 742 in Altamonte Springs now too.

      Considering this store would have been one of the first with Classy Market 3.0, it's not surprising Publix did the light remodeling earlier this year. Those vintage photos have also been a recent casualty, sadly. Thanks for those updates on the rest of the plaza too! That is surprising about the Starbucks, but they'd probably be better off with a freestanding location nearby than the old storefront location.

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    2. know all the aisles of the original publixsons? Oh and how it was laid out reminds me of store #721 in Alpharetta, GA.

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  4. Store 1666 in Palmetto has the new Publix decor.

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    1. I'm impressed - that décor looks pretty great!

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    2. Publix #1666 looks awesome.

      Several existing stores undergoing remodels or expansion and new stores under development will be using the new decor. The new decor will be implemented chain-wide at Publix store locations.

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    3. Cool! The new decor is here! I really like the new stuff, and it seems to break the rather smooth transitions between the last few decor packages. I'm looking forward to eventually seeing that decor in person (although knowing Publix, all of their stores will have that new look by next year :) )

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  5. West of Publix #1428 is Publix #301. Publix #301 opened in 1986 with a first for Publix Super Markets: the first Publix Pharmacy. I think the pharmacy is still in its original location. The store's decor has changed over the years.

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    1. I think the pharmacy is in the original location too, as that spot between the left side entryway and the bakery is where most late 80's/early 90's stores had the pharmacy counter.

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  6. Publix #1182, Publix Super Market at Hyde Park, 2401 West Azeele Street, Tampa, Florida 33609-3317, converted from a Publix GreenWise Market specialty organic/gourmet grocery store to a Publix supermarket recently. (A pharmacy license for Publix Pharmacy #1182 is yet to be issued by the Florida Board of Pharmacy.)

    One Publix GreenWise Market store location remains: Publix GreenWise Market #1159, Publix GreenWise Market - Boca Village Square, 21230 Saint Andrews Boulevard, Boca Raton, Florida 33433-2435. GreenWise Market #1674, Lakeside Centre, 8210 Glades Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33433, is under development two miles west. It may replace Publix GreenWise Market #1159. Publix GreenWise Market #1159 could be torn down and rebuilt into a new Publix supermarket.

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    1. I'm trying to get down to Boca to see that last original Greenwise, hopefully before the end of the month if things work out.

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  7. Does this mean that store 1182 is getting the new Publix decor, or is going to keep the original GreenWise interior?

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    1. The long-term plan for existing Publix store locations is to receive the new decor.

      Publix #1182 may keep the existing Publix GreenWise Market decor, then change everything for its major remodel.

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  8. And speaking of the new decor being implemented chain-wide, does this mean that store 712 and other stores will get this new decor package by 2020 or 2021?

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    1. Publix remodels their stores every 5-6 years according to their website. Eventually every store will end up with the new decor, but that will happen gradually over the next few years like it did with Classy Market 3.0. However, I'm curious to see what the new decor will look like in the really old stores (early 90's and older). Classy Market 3.0 (and its previous variants) worked well in those stores, but it will be interesting to see how the new stuff gets implemented in those locations.

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  9. Jackson Crodian that Publix 1666 in Palmetto has the best looking decor Publix has ever come up with! I like the silver look! It's different from other 790 something stores in Florida.

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  10. Thanks for the shoutout! Yep, that shopping center setup is certainly something different... certainly don't think I've seen anything like that before!

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    1. You're welcome! There's probably a reason why the "inverted mall" never caught on, as that strip center was certainly odd!

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  11. Publix #1159 is a GreenWise Market, and is located at 21230 St. Andrews Blvd, Boca Raton, FL. Originally opened as a Publix in the 1980's or 1990's with a 3xx or 4xx number. Still has a tile mural on the outside!

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  12. Also, after you visit GreenWise #1159, check out store #1361 at 7060 West Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton. That store is large for a Publix, probably an early 2010's 54M/56M, and has 19 aisles!

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  13. And probably that nearby Winn-Dixie at Beracasa Way.

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  14. Great blog! I remember going to this store in 2009 when it was branded "Albertsons" but operated by Publix, there must have been an internal sign that said as much.
    This store is somewhat local to me, there used to be a wing place in the plaza next door and sometime in spring 2013 I was there and had a beer with the project manager for the rebuild, and I specifically asked him why Publix would spend $$ tearing down a perfectly fine building, just to replace it. He replied that Publix was more interested in the "look and standardization", and it was too costly to bring it up to modern standards, with an in-place generator and such, and that being 30ish year old at the time it was just a better decision to tear down and rebuild. I very much enjoyed my conversation with him, which encompassed many things about Publix that have been lost from my memory.
    Very soon the new Publix is going to open just down the road, replacing the store in "Jamestown" plaza with a new build where the SteinMart and Fresh Market used to be. Based on their external progress as of yesterday, I bet it opens within a month. No idea what will happen to the Jamestown store.

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    1. Glad you liked the post!

      That sounds like it was a very interesting conversation you had with the project manager. It's always mystified me why Publix would spend all that money to tear town a perfectly good building. It's not even 30+ year old buildings Publix is doing this to, as they've ripped down a 2002-built Albertsons just to rebuild a similar building of their own in its place. Publix does like standardization, as all of their stores (especially the newer ones) all look and feel the same inside. I'm sure standardization is cheaper for the company in the long run, but I like these unique Publix stores as a refreshing change from the norm.

      The Jamestown Plaza Publix was actually a unique store as well. It was the very first "deluxe" prototype Publix ever built, measuring 55,000 square feet, and was the very first Publix to feature an in-store pharmacy. That deluxe prototype was actually inspired by the stores Albertsons was building at the time, and were designed as a response to the "all-in-one" concept that was popular at the time. Publix only built 10-ish of those deluxe stores before evolving it into a different design, so it will be sad when that store closes and moves next door. I had a feeling the new Publix in the old Stein Mart plaza would be opening soon, as construction began well over a year ago now.

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    2. I'll drive by there tomorrow and see where the construction is and see if I can get a few photos to email you. There used to be a "Fresh Market" which was a cool little hidden gem, but moved out around 2016, and that and most of the older plaza with Stein Mart was torn down and a new Publix arising from the ashes.

      The old Albertsons' beside my house is now a Hobby Lobby. A friend who's a small time BBQ restaurant owner had a handshake deal with that store manager to sell his sauces inside the store - problem is that is cost so much for the first professionally-made batch as a prototype ($10k IIRC) it just wouldn't have made any money.

      Have you ever written on the College park retro-wing Publix? That's one cool store.

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    3. I've never written a post about the College Park Publix, but I have been there and taken photos. I have been wondering what to write about next on MFR though, so that could be a contender...

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