A brand new Publix will open this summer at County Line and Pipkin roads with an accompanying liquor store and balcony area.
The Lakeland-based grocer’s newest Polk County store will be the “very latest prototype” and measure out to about 48,000 square feet, said Brian West, Publix’s community relations manager for Southwest Florida.
West said that longtime Publix fans will notice some significant changes to the typical layout.
“As soon as they come through the door, the first thing they’re going to notice is that the deli is completely on the sales floor,” West said.
West said in most Publix locations, the deli area where you can grab lunchmeat and cheese in addition to a famous PubSub, is pushed up against the wall and customers order at a service counter. It’s a look that’s held true even at the most recently rebuilt Polk Publix locations, such as the Plantation Square store on North Socrum Loop Road and Grove Park on U.S. 98 South in Lakeland.
But at the new County Line store, the deli will be located in the middle, allowing customers to walk all the way around the service counter when perusing and ordering.
West said the look of the sales floor alone will set the new Publix apart, adding that the deli’s location will be the “single biggest difference that most Publix shoppers will notice.”
But that’s not all. If you look up when entering the new Publix, you’ll see a new amenity also featured at Polk’s most recently opened store on Kathleen Road, which started welcoming customers at the end of 2020.
“It has a mezzanine directly above the entrance and exit that’s a place for customers to go, sit and relax. They can eat up there, they can access the free Wi-Fi and get some work done if they need to,” West said. “The mezzanine also opens to the exterior where it becomes a balcony. It’s a nice place to kind of sit and relax and have lunch and get a little bit of work done.”
The County Line Publix, which appears to be nearly fully constructed, has a Publix liquor store next door. The store is situated within a strip mall setup, but the other storefronts are currently vacant.
And here we are in Bainbridge,GA 39819….no Publix…and how many are there already in and around Lakeland,FL. Please we need one here!!!