Publix plans to convert all eight of its GreenWise-branded markets into modern Publix stores, once again stepping back from a specialized organic grocery segment inhabited by chains such as Whole Foods, Fresh Market, and Trader Joe’s.
Publix had announced in 2019 it would expand its GreenWise concept by three locations not long after Amazon had announced it had purchased Whole Foods, one of the first grocers to target consumers interested in nutritious and organic foods, the Ledger previously reported.
It was the first expansion since the GreenWise stores were introduced in 2007. Prior to the expansion, GreenWise-branded products had slowly appeared on traditional Publix store shelves.
The Tampa Bay Business Journal first reported Publix’s plans on Thursday, saying “The Lakeland-based grocer confirmed … that it will transition eight Publix GreenWise Market stores to traditional Publix stores.”
The GreenWise Market in Lakeland is among eight locations that will be converted to traditional Publix supermarkets, the Ledger has confirmed.
The Lake Miriam Publix, which is across the highway from the GreenWise, is due for demolition in another year and during the rebuild, the GreenWise location will remain open.
The retail footprints of GreenWise stores are between 35,000 and 40,000 square feet. They also emphasize organic and specialty items, as well as grab-and-go, prepared meals.
Offerings include fresh produce and meats, wines, and cheeses. At least one store in Florida features a cheese maturation cave to age semi-soft cheeses, including brie. Some locations offer international wines made from organic grapes with a sommelier on hand to help customers select their wines.
The meats, including beef and poultry, are free of antibiotics or added hormones and some are raised on vegetarian diets. Organic smoked beef or turkey brisket are common offerings.
Several food and beverage sections developed in GreenWise have been added to select traditional Publix stores, including Pours, which allows shoppers to enjoy beer or wine or coffee, tea, and cold brew while they shop or relax at the Pours bar.
“Our customers’ shopping habits have reinforced that they enjoy the attributes of a Publix GreenWise Market location, but within their traditional Publix shopping setting,” Herring told the Business Journal.
Herring did not say when the transition process would commence but that each location depends on “various factors.” In addition to Lakeland, there are GreenWise locations in Boca Raton, Nocatee, Odessa, Tallahassee, Tampa, and Mountain Brook, Alabama.
GreenWise locations in Mount Pleasant and Lexington South Carolina closed in 2020, according to a Charleston News Channel 4 report.
The most recent store built was in 2021 on Water Street in Tampa at street level within the Herron apartment building. It was touted at the time as energy efficient because it was connected to a district cooling system.
The Lake Miriam Publix teardown and rebuild would follow the Oakbridge Centre Publix store at 3636 Harden Boulevard in Lakeland. That store, built in the 1980s, was closed for demolition in September, with the rebuild and upgrade expected to take about a year.
Publix applied for fully engineered site plan approval for its Lake Miriam location on April 26, but as of Friday had not submitted building plans or permit applications.
The GreenWise store in Lakeland opened in December 2019. The longer-term fate of the GreenWise at the Shoppes of Lake Miriam Crossing could not be confirmed, including when the rebranding of the location will take place or whether it will eventually close permanently.
Publix Super Markets Inc. is the largest employee-owned company in the U.S. with more than 240,000 associates. It operates 1,341 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia with plans to open new stores in Kentucky this year.