Hey everyone! You might ask why I'm back here on the AFB — well that I don't know! You also may ask why I didn't refer to this store as a Publixsons in the title, and that is because it technically isn't. However, you can say that there is still a Publiquorsons at Village Square, but I will get into those details later.
First, I want to show my appreciation for AFB's willingness to invite me back for another contributor post; I hope this one will be a treat for y'all! I know I enjoyed researching and photographing this store on a few of my trips to the Capital City, in addition to another Tallahassee Publix that we explored back in March. While in town, I also had a chance to photograph a few of the Sing Stores in the area and got plenty of new content for my blog (be on the lookout). Now that's enough about me, let's jump into the history of this location.
1979: K-mart Plaza
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| The Tallahassee Democrat - June 28, 1979 - Newspapers.com |
The history of this store dates all the way back to 1977, when Kmart decided to expand their footprint to include the rapidly-growing North Tallahassee. I found mention of a lease dated November 28, 1977, which was signed two-years before the store would open on June 28, 1979. This was Tallahassee's second Kmart, with the first opening in 1972 on Apalachee Parkway next to a fascinating Publix that survived into the twenty-first century.
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| Kmart and Publix on Apalachee Parkway - Florida Memory - December 1975 |
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pictures online of the Village Square Kmart, so this picture of Kmart #4489 and Publix #113 will have to do. I imagine the store would have looked more like this one in Lancaster, OH since they have the same corrugated concrete façade, or the now-infamous Vero Beach store that was also built in 1979. The Apalachee Parkway Kmart was Tallahassee's last Kmart to remain open, closing in 2012. In 2006, Publix #113 decided to move just down the road to a new store at Governor's Crossing II.
Kmart #7203 would continue on with business-as-usual until late-1994, when it was announced the chain would close 110 stores by February 1995 (a full list can be found here). While the other two Tallahassee stores survived the initial cut, the Thomasville, GA store was not so lucky. I believe this was the beginning of the end for the discount retailer, since this is the first major round of closures I could find. Twenty-seven years later, only one Kmart remains open in the Sunshine State, marking one of the slowest liquidations we have seen in retail history.
Colonial Stores signed a lease as a junior anchor in the Kmart shopping center on December 7, 1977. Big Star, Colonial's discount grocery brand, opened in the plaza on September 16, 1979 and would last until early 1982. Next up in this parcel was Pantry Pride, which opened its doors to hungry Killearn shoppers in May 1982. Following the similar fate of Big Star, Pantry Pride would permanently close the cupboard in July 1984, citing company-wide financial troubles. I couldn't find any information for another business occupying the parcel until 1988. While there is a chance the storefront sat vacant, I wouldn't be surprised if another few grocers came through the revolving door of 3521-D, judging by the track record of the parcel. December 1988 would bring new life and a new letter (3521-E) to this space as Drugs for Less moved in. I couldn't find much information on the discount pharmacy chain, which ironically was started by Bruno's, other than it became an independent company in 1982.
The "Traffic Nightmare"
These stores are located at the Northeastern terminus of Capital Circle on Thomasville Road (Former Dixie Highway, US 319), just north of I-10; needless to say, there are a lot of cars that pass by daily. This store was on the northern edge of town when it was built, and primarily served the growing residential developments in the area, including the Killearn Estates subdivision. With all of the traffic, I was initially surprised at how poorly the initial stores in this shopping center did, until I realized there was a Walmart directly across the street and a Publix next door. Hard to compete with those retailers!
This brings me to another, controversial topic: the intersection of those three major roads. When Kmart first opened in 1979, concerns were raised about this section becoming too congested for travelers on Thomasville Road. According to a DOT official, "If we put a traffic light there, it (the traffic problem) would be worse," since Thomasville Road's four lanes merge into two just south of the plaza. Therefore, the issue was only deemed temporary and was disregarded.
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| Courtesy Newspapers.com - Tallahassee Democrat - October 21, 1979 |
Until, the transportation department realized they had a larger issue at hand a few weeks later. The Tallahassee Democrat published an article with new plans for this oddly-configured intersection in order to solve a problem that would last much longer than they thought. According to the clipping above, the issues began when the State DOT assumed US 27 / Monroe Street would be the primary route into town; however, they were dumbfounded when Thomasville Road actually grew to serve that purpose. City leaders "knew the state plan wasn't going to work" during the initial planning of Interstate 10 but were ignored. They were right.
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| Courtesy Newspapers.com - Tallahassee Democrat - February 26, 1995 |
I assume the project proposed in 1979 solved some issues of this intersection in the interim; although, it reared its ugly head again in the mid-'90s due to North Tallahassee's rapid growth. As we can see in the photo, gridlocked traffic on the corridor was commonplace. The article above describes the implications construction would have on businesses as the massive construction project began, and how this stretch of Thomasville Road was the busiest in Leon County. It looks like the service roads that were proposed in the late-'70s were never built between the Thomasville Road exit and Capital Circle as shown in the map below.
This article also gave me my first glimpse of the sign for the
Tallahassee #17 Sing Store (the Amoco sign above), which is one of three Sing Stores Amoco opened in Tallahassee after 1990. If you zoom
in below the gas prices, you can see the Sing logo for the convenience
store. This store is located across Thomasville Road from the Kmart Plaza.
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| Courtesy Newspapers.com - Tallahassee Democrat - January 6, 1996 Why make a map when I've been given one? We can see the Albertsons, Publix, and Sing Store. |
During this phase of construction, the state DOT ran an ad campaign featuring Dr. Tom S. Vill, R.D. (Road Doctor) which contained several medical metaphors. I think it is hilariously cheesy, especially since they created a whole persona around Dr. Thomasville Rd. Oh, the '90s!
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| Courtesy Newspapers.com - Tallahassee Democrat - May 26, 1996 |
In the end, it seems like the flyover project was just the prescription needed to cure the area's traffic ailments. Traffic is generally smooth in this area, with the primary side-effects being how tricky it is to navigate the intersection even if you are familiar with the area. As we will see later, I understand why Publix decided to close #225 and move to the former Albertsons because it is much easier to turn into Village Square shopping center (Kmart / Albertsons) than Killearn Shopping Center (Publix / Hobby Lobby) when driving south on Thomasville Road. More recently, another construction project was undertaken in this area to rebuild the I-10 interchange; it began in 2006 and was completed around 2009-2010. The main focus of this was to add exit lanes to-and-from I-10 West with direct access to Capital Circle.
1995: Village Square
That's right, 1995 brought great change for the Kmart shopping center, as both anchor tenants (Kmart & Drugs for Less) closed their doors for good. Shortly after the announcement of the "monolithic" $16-$18 million road construction flyover project on Thomasville Road and Capital Circle, Books-A-Million announced they would move into the Drugs for Less space while Albertsons staked a claim over the former Kmart for a 53,000 sqft store. Blockbuster was proposed as a third tenant but I'm not sure if they ever moved in. I know the AT&T store was previously a Cingular Wireless retailer before the two companies merged. With Kmart gone, the plaza was renamed to Village Square.
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| Albertsons #4428 recreation using Adobe Photoshop - 2022 |
Normally I'd expect to see the old Kmart torn down to make room for a shiny, new mid-late 90's Albertsons store. Nope. The big A decided the best course of action was to clean out the inside, spruce up the outside, and move right into the 1979 building. Strange, huh? This also brings me to the unique part about this store: it is a very rare example of a Kmartsons!
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| Courtesy Newspapers.com - Tallahassee Democrat - January 17, 1996 |
I vaguely remember seeing the outside of this store before it was eventually torn down, but boy was it a sight. Fortunately, Flickr user Andy Callahan was able to capture this odd dinosaur before it saw the wrecking ball. That being said, let's take a look at Albertsons #4428.
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| Andy Callahan - Flickr - September 25, 2009 |
This store opened on January 17, 1996, but I couldn't find any pictures from when the building was open, so I have no idea what the inside looked like. Regardless, here is the façade Albertsons would have added before they moved in. We can clearly see the "Albertsons" and "Sav-on" (has anybody else realized that the pharmacy name is French for soap?) labelscars, in addition to the ones for "Food" and "Pharmacy" on the left and right, respectively. In the left edge of the picture, we can also see the entrance for the liquor store.
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| Andy Callahan - Flickr - September 25, 2009 |
Walking up to the front doors, we are reminded that "[our] new Publix supermarket will be coming soon." Other than that, it looks like most other Albertsons entryways. It seems like a few decals may be missing (I'd imagine we would've been "Welcome[d] To Albertsons" had these pictures been taken a year earlier) but we still have plenty of memories before Albertsons used the left door to "EXIT" the property. Luckily, we will be able to follow the lead of one of these stickers later on in this post . . .
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| Andy Callahan - Flickr - September 25, 2009 |
Stepping back, we see a scene that probably didn't change that much since the store closed: an empty parking lot.
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| Andy Callahan - Flickr - September 25, 2009 |
Somebody did leave behind this lone buggy in one of the cart corrals. By examining the contents, it looks like the last shopper may have paid a visit to the liquor store before fleeing the scene.
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| Andy Callahan - Flickr - September 25, 2009 |
Now we've got a good look at the rest of the shopping center. AT&T occupies the space next to Albertsons, and Books-A-Million calls the Jr. anchor space home. We are also introduced to something odd: two garage doors on the right side of Albertsons. How strange.
This view of the façade really reminds me of the Lancaster Kmart, just look at the lights and the corner of the building. This is one of my favorite parts about standardized retail construction; even if one building is altered or gone, you can still find other locations to fill in the gaps!
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| Andy Callahan - Flickr - September 25, 2009 |
But wait, there's more! For some reason, Albertsons decided to leave behind Kmart's former garden center and auto service center. Some Kmart experts out there may say otherwise, but to me this is the most obvious relic that was left behind. I assume Albertsons didn't need this extra space on the right side of the store, so they figured it was better to leave it then try to hide it. Albeit, Fred's didn't try to hide these departments when they moved into the Thomasville store but I feel like this is a different scenario. We will see that Publix had different ideas about how to make this location a "classy" grocery store.
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| Andy Callahan - Flickr - September 25, 2009 |
Our last look at #4428 shows the painted over road sign in the rear view mirror of a number of cars on Thomasville Road. I vividly remember riding by this store a few months later and seeing construction crews tearing down the 30-year-old building. One thing that I thought was odd is how they managed to preserve the liquor store during the demolition, which now stands next to 2010's shiny new Publix. In order to get there, we first need to take a look back at Publix #225 which is next door to Village Square.
1980: Killearn Shopping Center
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| Courtesy of 365 Thru Amy's Eyes - Publix #225 - November 2010 |
3483 Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, FL
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| Courtesy of 365 Thru Amy's Eyes - Publix #225 - November 2010 |
You can tell this photo isn't from any time in the recent past, just look at how stocked it is! Even better, it is the cleaning supplies aisle!
It is very rare to look back on a store that closed over a decade ago and find a fair number of pictures. I'm also not sure how I stumbled across the blog post that contained these pictures - I guess it was my lucky day. Regardless, this shot was taken on aisle 11 looking toward the back of the store at the meat department. You can look at the terrazzo floors and tell we are on the left side of an older store due to the direction of the stripes. We can also see the alternate version of Classy Market 1.0 (maybe Classy Market 1.5?) signage that drops the serif font seen elsewhere. I believe my former store, which was remodeled around 2007-2008, received the CM 1.5 signage as well.
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| Courtesy of 365 Thru Amy's Eyes - Publix #225 - November 2010 |
When #225 was expanded in 1991, it looks like they rearranged it to look like a 49N store from the period (check out my page on Publix store layouts if you need a refresher). One key difference between this store and the 42Ns of the time is the row of coffin coolers in front of the meat counter.
I'm not sure why the flooring was redone under the deli section, but I believe the meat counter would have been centered on the converging chevron floors. I also see some teal cart bumpers on the coolers that date back to this store's Wavy Pastel days. Another rare sight is the CM 1.0 aisle markers, which I thought were extinct until I saw them hanging on in a CM 2.5 store a few months ago.
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| Courtesy of 365 Thru Amy's Eyes - Publix #225 - November 2010 |
Our last look inside #225 is at the produce department in the back left corner of the store, with the seafood counter behind us. If you zoom in, you can see the ice cream freezers in the bakery, past the sign for aisle 16. Another trace of this store's addition is the linoleum floors in this department and the disappearance of the stripped terrazzo.
While researching this store, I also came across a fun meme that I had seen back in 2014. Coincidentally, it is related to #225 — and you'll see why.
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| The Source - Jameis Winston running with Publix crab legs - May 15, 2014 |
Some of you may remember when FSU quarterback Jameis Winston was accused of stealing crab legs from a Tallahassee Publix. Later, TPD released surveillance footage showing Winston picking up some crab legs from the seafood department, wandering around the store for several minutes, and leaving without paying. It looks to me like he was in a Publix just west of FSU's campus (wouldn't that make sense!) when he committed the theft. Somebody creative on the internet decided to make a meme on the subject and related to FSU's recent defeat of Auburn in the National Championship, while using #225's produce department as the backdrop! Ironically, he would be running toward the seafood department in this picture.
Hobby Lobby
When compared to the picture of Publix #225 above, we see that Hobby Lobby didn't do much to the façade of the store (ironically, both prominently advertise "floral" departments). The biggest change they made was closing off the two side vestibules and creating a single entrance / exit where customer service would have been. They even managed to leave the singular light that is below "Floral" in the picture above.
Inside, however, is a different story. Just through the doors, we see no visible traces of a Publix past. Only Valentine's Day merchandise for sale in late December. Hobby Lobby put in a new dropped ceiling (removing the raised ceiling over the grocery department, etc.), new lighting, and new flooring.
To most people, this store would look like any other craft store. However, the keen-eyed amongst you might have picked up on one retail relic thus far; if not, I'll just let the suspense draw on.
More home décor, pictures, artificial plants, and some off-white linoleum floors . . .
About those floors, the picture above was my crude attempt to show what was blatantly obvious in the store: terrazzo expansion joints. If you scroll up to some of my other pictures, you can see some the diagonal lines in the flooring that hints at what is underneath. It is a shame Hobby Lobby decided to cover up the floors because it looks like Publix left them in good condition! Oh well, maybe somebody will be surprised to uncover them in 20 years or so.
I'll close out this store's tour in the fabric department, looking toward the (artificial) floral department in the front of the store. I believe this is a similar perspective to the picture of the Publix produce department because the columns in front of me would have likely been in between freezer aisles 15 & 16.
To
the right of Hobby Lobby, we also see a CVS that was previously an Eckerd and Shoppers
Drug Mart. I'm still surprised this pharmacy was never closed and moved to an outparcel but maybe they just liked the location. From what I
have found, Shoppers Drug Mart held their grand opening here for their second store in
town on October 16, 1980. Meanwhile, Eckerd was originally in the nearby Carriage Gate shopping
center and moved to this location when they bought the Shoppers Drug Mart chain in 1986. CVS took over this store shortly after they acquired it and 12 other Leon County Eckerd locations from JC Penny as part of a $2.15 billion deal.
Other original tenants of this plaza included:
- Pichards Ace Hardware
- Clotheshanger
- Hair Happenings
- Hobbit Hoagie
- New Elegance
- Pabs Hallmark Shop
- Pizza Pro
- Pony Express
- Scissor Wizard
2010: Publix #1306 at Village Square
Now that we've covered that tangent, let's hop back over to Village Square and what became of Albertsons #4428. I want to apologize for the cluttered shot above but thought I should include it for several reasons. The first, is that this store is extremely hard to fit in one picture due to its massive size and all of the palm trees. The second, it is not like Publix to keep so many haphazard buggies in the parking lot unless they are really busy (which they were, more on that later). And finally, I found myself being followed by a slightly creepy man as I was walking down this sidewalk to the store, and I wanted to be brisk with my walk and photography so he wouldn't catch up with me!
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| Courtesy Newspapers.com - Tallahassee Democrat - September 14, 2008 |
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| Courtesy Newspapers.com - Tallahassee Democrat - November 14, 2010 |
I've been to Publix #1306 on several occasions before the time I mentioned above, the first being shortly after it opened on November 11, 2010. I, along with a number of other people, was shocked by the size of this 61M "giant monster mega" Publix at the time and I still think it is quite large. I since have visited three times in the last year for a variety of reasons. The first (May 2021), which is my smallest photoset, was just to grab a few items while I was passing through. I happened to notice a few oddities that I decided were photo-worthy in my early days of retail photography. The second (November 2021), was after a friend and I spent the day at several local attractions (yes, I did drag my friend to other stores, including #1427, to take pictures of). We decided to stop-by since I had a few items that I was looking for at a larger store like this one. To my surprise, this Publix was midway through its Sienna (CM 3.0) to Evergreen remodel and I had no idea! (It wasn't long before I noticed the sloppily-painted walls and missing signage.) The third-and-final time was a few weeks later (December 2021), when I wanted to see my first completed Evergreen store. I will say, the last trip was a bit more stressful than the others for four reasons: 1. I knew I was going to write this post so I wanted to capture good pictures of this store, 2. I had a grocery list that I needed to pay attention to, 3. this store was very crowded, and I don't like crowds (especially when taking pictures - at 2 PM on a weekday!), 4. This store is gigantic — and still overwhelming. My photo above was from my third trip. With three trips and a décor change involved, buckle up, because this is going to be a long post and a lot of pictures!
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| Courtesy Newspapers.com - Tallahassee Democrat - November 11, 2010 No, I couldn't find the online photo gallery mentioned. |
It looks like this store opened with the Invigorate (Classy Market 2.5) interior based on the meat and seafood department signage in the picture above. I'm not sure which store was the first to debut this décor, but #1306 was certainly one of the earliest adopters. Unfortunately, I can't find any better pictures of this store before Sienna was installed. I believe Invigorate was first rolled out in 2010, so this store would make sense as a prototype with all of the fanfare it received. Furthermore, this store was the third 61M to be built in Tallahassee (the others being #782 & #852), I believe the first and only of this prototype to be built since the early 2000's. I find it odd that Publix would implement a design that had been sitting on the shelf for two-thirds of a decade, only to toss it back in the trash. It seems that Publix only made minor changes to this prototype between when #1306 was built and when Tallahassee's other 61M stores were constructed in 2002, which shows how the oddities of this store just keep coming!
First, we get to "visit our full service liquor store" (remember the sticker on the door):
Located to the left of Publix, it is the only remnant of this store's Albertsons days and certainly dates back further. I do not know what it was used for when Kmart was here, but I do know Albertsons used it for their liquor store. I vividly remember wondering why they left the old Kmart / Albertsons liquor store behind when they tore down the rest of the building. I guess liquor stores are one thing that Publix isn't super picky about!
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| December 2021 Visit |
I didn't get a chance to take pictures inside the liquor store (I thought I would look really suspicious) but I have seen the inside before. If I remember correctly, the cashier is located immediately to the left as you walk in, and there are two aisles that run in front of you to the back of the store. In the back left corner is a small office, and the back right has an exit. It seemed to be a fairly small store and I don't remember it having any refrigerators for cold beer. I believe spirits were on the aisle to the left, and wine (if they had it) was on the aisle to the right.
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| December 2021 Visit |
Back outside the store, we can see the awning left behind by Albertsons and the corrugated concrete left behind by Kmart. You can look at Andy Callahan's picture above and see that the awning still looks identical to the way it did in 2009, just with a new coat of paint. We can also look a bit further and see the left entrance to Publix. This store is so big that it has an entrance on either side and an exit vestibule in the middle. We'll enter through the left, as I did on my third visit for this post.
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| December 2021 Visit |
A look down the front of the store; we see the old Presto logo over the ATM and a long way to the other door. Remember, the main store was torn down and built from the ground-up so nothing from Albertsons or Kmart remains.
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| December 2021 Visit |
Once inside, we are welcomed to our Publix in Evergreen style (No more green beans here!) and a fun CM 2 / 2.5 tile pattern.
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| December 2021 Visit |
This entrance houses the deli to-go / seating area, Aprons Event Planning, and two express checkouts (hidden behind the Coke machine). In my opinion, the Evergreen 'green' clashes with the lime tile on either side of the door. I'm surprised Publix made such a shift in color palette, and it will be interesting to see how they treat these older stores with wild tile work. At least the Metallic Marketplace tile will fit right in again! (even though Publix desperately tried to cover it up with Sienna renovations like this).
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| December 2021 Visit |
Turning around, we are put right in the middle of the bakery, with the deli to our right and the grand aisle in front of us. At least the CM 2.5 bakery tile meshes a little bit better with Evergrey Evergreen. It may just be me, but I think Publix could have been a little more creative with the minor signage (like café above) because even CM 1.0 had more pizzazz!
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| December 2021 Visit |
On the other hand, the Evergreen department signage does look nice and clean. Overall, I was surprised at how good this store looked with the new décor. As AFB mentioned earlier posts, pictures do not do it justice.
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| November 2021 Visit |
Here we have a "grand overview" of the grand aisle. The produce department in this store is really big and is accompanied by a specialty cheese station that is only found in the larger deluxe stores.
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| November 2021 Visit |
With a big store comes a big bag of organic carrots. My friend saw this and said I had to include it in the post! At the time, I had no idea who would need 25 lbs. of carrots, but have since witnessed an entire carrot-themed purchase at a different Publix (which you can read about here). They must either love making carrot juice or have several farm animals who like to snack!
I also noticed that Publix seemed to remove the white-and-grey tiles on the brown wall by the bakery as part of the remodel. I find this odd, especially since they seem to match Evergreen better than any other tiles in this store!
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| May 2021 Visit |
Now we have our first glimpse at how the store looked prior to its Evergreen conversion. We can see how much better the CM 2.5 tile work blends with Sienna and how much warmer the space feels. While I wish I had taken more pictures during this trip to the store, a few are better than none!
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| November 2021 Visit |
Here is a mid-remodel view of the back of the produce department, looking toward wines and specialty cheeses.
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| December 2021 Visit |
And the back of the produce department, looking toward wine, meats, and seafood — post remodel.
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| November 2021 Visit |
This store's service produce section is on an island in the back of the department, just in front of meat and seafood.
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| November 2021 Visit |
Looking back toward the door we came in, we see a better view of the deli and a lonely Sienna aisle sign still "hanging around."
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| November 2021 Visit |
One last look at the bakery before we move on...
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| December 2021 Visit |
…but first, I need to mention the specialty cheese counter. What shocked me about this remodel is how this department did not change at all. I don't think it looks bad with Evergreen, but it still is surprising to see metallic foil lettering and warm Earth-tones reminiscent of Sienna. I'm not certain, but I believe the cheese counter looked largely the same in CM 2.5.
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| December 2021 Visit |
Next to the wine aisle, I spotted this small beer display that caught my eye. Is it just me, or does the P sign look like it is homemade? Maybe it is just really old?
Now that I mention that, I remembered a picture of some old Publix private label items I found around my house. I just love the Wavy Pastels font on that hydrogen peroxide!
I remember going to the grand opening of a store in 2015 and seeing the old Publix ribbon logo on a card advertising balloons by the register. I was so confused as to how those ended up there but now, I wish I had grabbed one. It is crazy how some old stuff like that makes it into a new store, and I wouldn't be surprised if the sign on the beer was old — or if it was just homemade.
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| December 2021 Visit |
Back on the tour, we see the completed meat and seafood departments. I feel like the design department did a good job with these signs; although they lack color, they still have visual interest with different textures and depth effects. Notice how the Seafood sign is spaced in front of the wall versus the "Meats" being attached. We also see AFB's "vertical blinds" stock photo on the left. You can see some scarring on the floor from the original arrangement of the coffin coolers and how the refrigeration lines have yet to be covered up in the new configuration.
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| December 2021 Visit |
I did think it was odd how the painters added the green stripe to the various pipes and refrigeration lines that were set off from the wall. You can look at the pipes and see how sloppy the edges are for the green. With the renovation looking complete, this seems like something that wouldn't be acceptable to the "classy" chain. I think the store would have looked better if the pipes were all one color.
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| November 2021 Visit |
Back behind us, we see a better view of the old coffin cooler configuration in the meat department. I just realized that this cooler was moved between my visits in November and December, as it is now perpendicular to this layout. Compare this picture with the overview of the department above. Our odd little beer display can also be seen in this picture.
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| November 2021 Visit |
Another look at the old cooler arrangement and bulk foods.
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| November 2021 Visit |
Taking a look at the seafood counter, we see three flavors of class: Classy Market 2.0 / 2.5 tile, Sienna sushi signage, and Evergreen wall paint. While I do like this tile pattern in the context of CM 2 / 3, it does not look good with Evergreen. It will be interesting to see how many of these 2008-2014 era stores hold on to the seafood and the deli tile.
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| December 2021 Visit |
A different view of the seafood tile pattern.
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| November 2021 Visit |
In November, I saw this section of wall that had not been painted yet next to the seafood department. A little reminder of interiors past.
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| November 2021 Visit |
Turning toward the grocery department, we see the rear aisle of the store and can see the rare collision of Sienna aisle markers with Evergreen wall paint.
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| December 2021 Visit |
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| December 2021 Visit |
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| December 2021 Visit |
I took this picture from aisle 13 to try and capture some of Publix's new stock photos. I've since been to a new 48M store, and this collage was located over the beer coolers on aisle 15 (formerly where cheese and butter were in the 45M and 54M stores). I really wonder if the "I 💚 Green" sign is a direct reference to the name "Evergreen" or if it is more general than that. I'm sure it won't be long before employees on the Publix subreddit start ranting about the green referring to money, but I digress.
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| December 2021 Visit |
After one last look at the back left of the store, we will head up front.
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| December 2021 Visit |
We'll take a look down aisle 12 before we circle back to the deli. This aisle is home to beer and snacks — how fun!
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| November 2021 Visit |
Here is a little before-and-after look at the deli
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| December 2021 Visit |
We can see some of the red and orange tile used in the hot section of the deli, in addition to the traditional yellow and green CM 2.5 tile.
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| December 2021 Visit |
Here is a better view of the full deli. I'm surprised how few people are in the line for Pub-subs because I was struggling to get pictures everywhere else in this store on that day. It was packed! I even ran into somebody I know who lives 40+ miles away. I'm glad I didn't get caught! I hope they don't read this because they may-or-may-not be in my photoset. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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| December 2021 Visit |
One last look at the produce department and this side of the store.
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| November 2021 Visit |
Based on the size of the rest of the store, the floral department wasn't very big.
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| December 2021 Visit |
We'll take a final look at the deli before we jump into the grocery department. To my left are the express checkouts and Instacart staging area.
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| May 2021 Visit |
I was surprised that over my three trips in this store, none of my grocery aisle photos overlapped. While we don't get any direct comparisons, I don't think any items were shuffled during the remodel. Above, we see aisle 11 during the last months of Sienna. This aisle is home to bread and candy (the diet of champions).
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| December 2021 Visit |
Jumping to aisle 9 (in a time warp) we see a picture that is uncharacteristic for the last few years: full shelves of paper towels!
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| December 2021 Visit |
Another surprise is a well-stocked cleaning aisle over on #8.
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| November 2021 Visit |
Pet foods take up aisle 7.
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| December 2021 Visit |
Now this looks more familiar; a 2021 grocery store tour wouldn't be complete without some empty shelves. It looks like the supply chain wizards decided sports drinks would be the shortage of the month.
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| May 2021 Visit |
This view of the back of the store shows how the air ducts used to be painted a different color from the wall, which I think looks much better than what we see below.
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| November 2021 Visit |
Here is nearly the same view as above, only six months later.
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| December 2021 Visit |
And a final look at the full Evergreen dairy section.
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| May 2021 Visit |
Something that inspired me to initially take pictures of this store was the damaged dairy sign we see here. It isn't often that I go to a Publix and see a sign that is marred like this one, so I wanted to take a picture of it. This is also more evidence that all of the lettering is actually made of Styrofoam and not metal. At least the Styrofoam in that sign was luckier than the cup I wrote about in this post.
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| December 2021 Visit |
We now see what the Evergreen dairy department looks like with H&BA department peering out of the right edge. No more dented sign here! No more cream cheese, either, and that was one of the things on my grocery list for this trip.
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| November 2021 Visit |
A look toward the front, right entrance of the store, looking over Health & Beauty aides and the pharmacy counter.
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| December 2021 Visit |
Here is the pharmacy and the greeting card section.
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| November 2021 Visit |
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| May 2021 Visit |
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| December 2021 Visit |
Finally, we've made it back to the front of the store. An interesting note about this group of aisles is they were originally home to Publix's dedicated GreenWise section. I remember being amazed at how large this portion of the store was when it first opened back in 2010, but it makes sense for Publix to integrate these products with their non-organic counterparts throughout the store.
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| May 2021 Visit |
I wish this picture was a bit clearer, but here is the right side of the store before the remodel had begun.
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| November 2021 Visit |
And a mid-remodel shot, featuring the goat display for some pay-by-weight soap. Other than this store, I have only seen it at GreenWise markets so it must be some sort of pilot program.
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| December 2021 Visit |
Finally, the fully Evergreen pharmacy counter.
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| December 2021 Visit |
This side of the store is home to the customer service island and the entrance to the Aprons Cooking School.
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| December 2021 Visit |
To my left, we have the new 3D Publix "P" over the lotto machines. We also see more of the line-green CM 2.5 tile around the checkout lines. No more Sienna apple here.
It seems like older, pre-2017 Sienna remodels received the apple instead of the Publix "P." My guess is the marketing department had not yet decided on a new logo, so they settled on the apple instead.
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| November 2021 Visit |
Turning 180°, we see the expanded kitchen utensil section this store has. I wonder how many of those stand-up mixers they sell?
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| November 2021 Visit |
Now, this is what made me realize this store was getting Evergreen-ed back in November. While I was looking up at this wall, I noticed the sloppy paint job, which led me to notice the shade of green. The rest is history.
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| December 2021 Visit |
The stairwell to the Apron's cooking school is just to the right of the doors, where the mosaic tile meets the lime green. I see another spot that needs some touch-up, too; look at the white part over the "sho" in shopping.
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| December 2021 Visit |
Here is the front end of the store, featuring all 15 aisles. It still shocks me how this store feels so big, yet tops out at 15 numbered aisles, especially when the store it replaced had 16!
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| December 2021 Visit |
Publix redesigned the checkout light cubes for later Sienna installs but it appears they have refreshed them again for Evergreen. The late-CM 3.0 cubes have a squircle with phrases like "Checkout to Smile About" while these have green on an entire face of the cube, in addition to a new look for the express cubes.
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| November 2021 Visit |
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| December 2021 Visit |
Here are the checkout lanes. This store double-stacks them, for a grand total of 11 manned checkouts. Two standard lanes were removed to add a row of self-checkouts during the remodel.
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| November 2021 Visit |
Interestingly, Publix swapped out the checkout fixtures in the shot above but kept the old cube lights around for a few more months.
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| December 2021 Visit |
Another angle of lanes 1 - 3 and 7 - 9. The checkout lights changed the direction the numbers face when the cubes were swapped out.
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| May 2021 Visit |
Finally, we have a look back at the checkout lanes in May. I noticed that Publix swapped out the candy racks and conveyor belts between May and November; you can see the old ones here. You can also see a sign for the Aprons Cooking School off in the distance.
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| December 2021 Visit |
As I was checking out during my November trip, I asked the cashier when the store started its remodel. She said crews began work back in August over in the deli department. Hoping to snag one, I also asked what happened to all of the old signs, and she said they would probably be in the dumpster out back if it had not already been hauled off. Unfortunately, there was no signs from Classy Market 3.0 behind the store; I still have my hopes up that I can catch another store earlier in the remodel stages. I think it would be funny to have a collection of the Sienna motifs on a wall and see if anybody recognized them. :P Maybe one day!
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| November 2021 Visit |
To close out our tour, I wanted to include the Aprons catering van out in the parking lot.
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| December 2021 Visit |
There is a chance Publix used the same sign posts left by Albertsons, albeit, a very slim chance. Regardless, the main road sign looks much different than it did in 2009.
Wow, that was a lot! If I haven't bored you to death with pictures and history, here are some satellite images of the area.
Aerial Views
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| Albertsons #4428 from the West - Leon County Property Appraiser - January 2007 |
We'll start with a look at Albertsons #4428 back in 2007. You can get a clear view of the former Kmart auto and garden centers on the right of the store.
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| Albertsons #4428 from the South - Leon County Property Appraiser - January 2007 |
Here is a better view of the Books-A-Million store.
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| Albertsons #4428 from the East - Leon County Property Appraiser - January 2007 |
And a view of the back of the stores.
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| Albertsons #4428 from the North - Leon County Property Appraiser - January 2007 |
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| Future K-mart Plaza and Killearn Shopping Center - Tallahassee - Leon County GIS - 1970 |
The intersection of Capital Circle and Thomasville Road sure looked a lot different!
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| K-Mart Plaza - Tallahassee - Leon County GIS - 1990 |
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| Village Square (Albertsons #4428) - Google Earth - November 1999 |
Next up, let's look at Publix #225 and CVS #3910 in 2007:
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| Publix #225 from the West - Leon County Property Appraiser - January 2007 |
You can see where Publix expanded the building during the 1991 remodel by looking at the line on the roof on the left side of the store.
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| Killearn Shopping Center (Publix #225) - Tallahassee - Leon County GIS - 1990 |
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| Killearn Shopping Center (Publix #225) - Google Earth - November 1999 |
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| Village Square (Publix #1306) & Killearn Shopping Center - Google Earth - April 2021 |
That will conclude my coverage of this fascinating thoroughfare in North Tallahassee. If you liked this post, be sure to check out my blog for other content! Also, I recently covered a really cool former Publix which still retains most of its Wavy Pastels décor elements. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already!
Until next time,
- The Sing Oil Blogger
This has been a feature post from my series Sing Oil Blog: More Than Convenience, in conjunction with my post on Tallahassee #17. To check out my other posts from this series or to learn more, click on the logo above.
I find it really interesting that Publix is using a store type last used in 2003 or so, but nonetheless it's still a cool store. Of course the 3.0 look is better since I'm not huge on Evergreen.
ReplyDeleteWhen you said it is very rare to find a store closed decades ago and find pictures and videos, you can find a few if you know where to look. You can come across a few closed stores every now and then.
Also, what was the former store that remodeled with 1.5? I was just curious to know.
I agree, it is crazy how they decided to dig up the Floorplan for this store that hadn't been touched in 6-7 years. I didn't realize that until AFB pointed it out! This store blended a bit better with CM 3.0 due to all of the funky tile it has; it will be intersring to see how Publix treats that tile in the long term. I have already been to another Evergreen remodel where Piblix put white vinyl stickers over tile it installed with CM 3.0.
DeleteWhile there you can find some pictures online in newspapers, etc., I still think it is crazy how I stumbled on several pictures from the inside of #225 that were meant to show how the store looked and not just a random picture of a flower or something. Yes, #225 (the store with Sans Serif CM 1.0 or CM 1.5) was replaced by #1306 next door and is now the Hobby Lobby.
I know #225 had that 1.0 but you mentioned another store remodeled to that package in 2007-2008.
DeleteI think I came across the Kmartsons and also wondered about the overpass project, which was not done post-2001 and instead earlier. It's strange how Albertsons, practically one of the most uniform stores at its peak, had such quirky exteriors and re-used buildings. Here's a picture of another "Albermart" in Baker, Louisiana. There's a former Kroger greenhouse in the background, and in the foreground, a Blockbuster. Guess they never converted the old garden center to their own Lawn & Garden department. http://www.carbon-izer.com/retail/albertsons/albermart.jpg
ReplyDeleteOops, it looks like I forgot to mention the timeline of the original flyover project in that section of the post! It seems like the bulk of the work was completed in 1996, with the project being finalized in the late-1990's. You are correct that it was completed before 2001. The 2006 project I mentioned was in addition to the overpass project, and was a restructuring of the I-10 exit.
DeleteIt is strange how Albertsons had some quirky exteriors. Publix has some examples of their own, like store #1119 which was rebuilt in a former Winn-Dixie's shell and #1427 which was in the old Bruno's. That "Albermart" is quite the sight, especially with the greenhouse in the background!
Whoa, an Albertsons in an old Kmart! That's quite strange. It's really seeing an old Albertsons with an old auto center in the building! I am aware of a Krogertsons in the Dallas suburb of Garland which has extra emphasis on the K since the Krogertsons building is a former Kmart. It was an early Kmart with a Kmart Foods. In 1997, the Kmart closed and Albertsons came in immediately. That didn't last long and now it is a Kroger that very obviously is a former Albertsons since they still have Albertsons signage on the building: https://goo.gl/maps/QUq7iWWMfpkkHShC7
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the Texas Thrift store off to the right there, it also still appears to have Kmart classic HVAC vents.
It's a bit surprising that Albertsons did not open any locations in Houston in former Kmarts since Albertsons' expansion in Houston coincided with Kmart closing a lot of their Houston locations in 1997 to relocate them into former Venture stores. By the time that Albertsons left town in 2002, Kmart was leaving town as well. In reality, Albertsons opened very few locations in Houston in recycled locations so perhaps it wasn't a surprise then that they didn't reuse any old Kmarts.
Here in modern times, there is an Albertmart of sorts in Houston. Pseudo3D above is quite familiar with this location. At the Northwest Freeway (290) and W. 34th St., there used to be a Kmart that started out as a Globe discount store (Globe itself was Walgreens' attempt at making a Kmart-like discount store). Kmart relocated that location to a former Venture in 1997 and Randall's took over that spot. Safeway took over Randall's and then Albertsons took over Safeway so that location ended up under the Albertsons umbrella. A few years ago, Randall's closed that location and converted it into an El Rancho, a Hispanic-oriented grocer that has Albertsons has a significant investor. So, yeah, it's an Albermart of sorts, but it was never an Albertsons under their own name and really Kmart wasn't the original tenant either. Link: https://goo.gl/maps/9xZhpeP8z9ewqh8f9
Oh, it's interesting to hear there is/was a lot of traffic in Tallahassee near I-10. I guess Houston isn't the only place to have a lot of traffic along I-10!
The "Albermart" is quite strange, especially with an old auto center! I also don't know what to think of that Krogerstons; it is crazy how Kroger didn't bother to remove Albertsons' "Food" and "Pharmacy" signs from the front of the building either. Pseudo3D also mentioned the interesting "Albermart" in Louisiana. Additionally, that Texas Thrift store does give off some strong Kmart vibes.
DeleteIf only Albertsons could've realized they would struggle in Houston, maybe they would have been more fond of recycling old buildings. They might have been able to hold on a bit longer with the extra money, who knows. It seems like the company picked up that tactic during their later years in Pensacola with store #4496 (opening-2003 in a former Delchamps) and planned store #4493 (proposed opening-2004 in a former Piggly Wiggly).
I guess you can consider the Houston El Ranchero an Albermart; although, it seems to have much more history than that. I've never heard of the Globe chain, either. I guess that shows how Walgreens should just stick to drug stores.
Luckily, all of the Tallahassee I-10 projects seem to have helped the situation a good bit. I'm sure that Phoenix and LA have their fair share of I-10 traffic too!
Believe it or not, it was not unusual for Kroger to leave Albertsons' 'Food' and 'Pharmacy' lettering up on Krogertsons locations both here in Houston and in Dallas. Here in Houston at least, those signs were still common until just recently when Kroger has been replacing store signage with their current logo. That said, a couple of Krogertsons locally still have the Albertsons lettering I do believe. Heck, in Henderson, TX, the Kroger there in an old Safeway still had Safeway signage up until literally a couple of years ago even though Safeway left and Kroger took over in 1987!
DeleteAs for Globe and Walgreens, if you're more interested in learning about them, I suggest checking out the guest blog post I did over at Houston Historic Retail last year about retail annual reports. Go down to the Walgreens section and check out some of the 1960s-70s Walgreens annual reports. It's an interesting subject! I don't know if Globe existed in your part of the world, but the annual reports might indicate if they did. Link: https://houstonhistoricretail.com/2021/05/12/through-the-annals-a-guide-to-retail-history-in-annual-reports/
Wow, it is crazy how lax they were as far as replacing signage!
DeleteThat was an interesting post you had on Houston Historic Retail; I never knew how much information you could find in an annual report! Winn-Dixie had some especially intriguing ones to look through.
ReplyDeleteGreat as usual, still a massive Publix to me.
The Shoppers Drug Mart logo bears an uncanny resemblance to the Canadian chain sharing its name too!
Thank you! I agree, this store is massive; it is crazy to see how well Publix does at managing the space in one of their own large stores versus a similarly-sized old Albertsons they took over.
DeleteThat is interesting; I still don't know much about Shoppers Drug Mart, so maybe the two were related somehow!
Huge Publix! Looks nice though with the Evergreen, even though I'm also not a huge fan. It's still better than Winn-Dixie's Down Down red.
ReplyDeleteI remember how awful getting off this exit in Tallahasee was back in the 90s. Isn't it State 61 that merges into 319? (At least prior to the flyover).
I think the Kmartsons is (was) kind of cool actually. From the aerial imagery, this Albertsons didn't seem too busy.
I think their best performing Tallahassee store was the original one (#4315) on N. Monroe. Even though this one was in a busy area, I feel like a lot of the more "neighborhood" placed grocery stores actually fared better than stores placed in congested areas like this part of Tallahassee.
It is huge! Just because I'm not a huge fan of Evergreen doesn't mean that it is a bad look overall; meanwhile, Down Down is pretty bad (and the Harvey's or Fresco y Mas yellow version is even worse).
DeleteFrom the looks of those articles, it seems like the exit was pretty bad back in the 1990's. You are correct, SR 61 splits from US 319 here: 319 becomes Capital Circle while 61 continues on as Thomasville Road toward downtown Tallahassee.
I think it would have been very cool to have gone to the Kmartsons / Albermart back in the day! This area is very congested, so you would think it would have gotten a lot of business. Maybe people would rather have gone to a "neighborhood" store, or the nearby Publix or Winn-Dixie.
Amazing. Kmart and Big Star shared a plaza in Brandon, Florida. My dad said when he was in FL in 1973 to 76, Kmart was the first store between Mulberry on 60.
ReplyDeleteI love reading about the history of old grocery stores.
Neat! It seems like both stores had a decent presence in Florida back in the 1970's.
DeleteIndeed, it is fun to learn the intricate histories of all of these stores!
Interesting post. I had no idea Big Star was ever in Florida. I would have thought they would have branded all their Florida stores as Grand Union as they were in South Florida.
ReplyDeleteI was in this mega-Publix in December, 2010, shortly after it opened. I was visiting a friend who lived in Kilearn Estates and we stopped in to grab a few groceries. Even he noted the size of the store including the Aprons cooking school on the second floor. That Publix really is something.
I believe Colonial / Big Star had a distribution center just north of Tallahassee in Thomasville, GA because there is a large warehouse at the intersection of "Colonial Dr" & "Big Star Dr", so it would make sense for them to have a few stores in Tallahassee. I guess they figured the Tallahassee area / North Florida shared more in common with Georgia than it did with South Florida.
DeleteThis store is certainly something! I'm sure it was especially shocking to see when it first opened! I was also surprised when I learned that Tallahassee has two more stores which are just as big.