Publix hoping to open another store in SoWal

I am a bit confused as to their thinking, but Publix will soon be requesting permission to build another grocery store on Hwy 98, about a mile east of the western end of 30A/hwy 98, which is only a few miles east of the existing Publix. Kurt said it a few years ago, "we haven't seen anything yet." Growth on hwy 98 is coming to SoWal. One day hwy 98 will be filled with traffic lights in parts of SoWal.

I wonder how jammed the beachfront will become, and will the march of the high density condos be stopped.

I am a bit confused as to their thinking, but Publix will soon be requesting permission to build another grocery store on Hwy 98, about a mile east of the western end of 30A/hwy 98, which is only a few miles east of the existing Publix. Kurt said it a few years ago, "we haven't seen anything yet." Growth on hwy 98 is coming to SoWal. One day hwy 98 will be filled with traffic lights in parts of SoWal.

Do what? That doesn't make sense.

Oh, yeah. The traffic lights that are on 98 in Destin will be growing like a cancer towards the east.

Dont they realize that we have been used to driving 20+ miles to the grocery and that we view the one at WC as THE grocery store around here?😀

Tha ratio I've heard is that it that it takes 10,000 people to support a grocery store in an area. Take the year-round population, add in the summer tourists, and the numbers probably make sense already. Plus the products that likely sell well at the WC probably tend to be very high margin items.

So makes sense to me.

I spoke with the MGR at WaterColor last week about this. He said as long as it was west of 331 he had no problem. He has the highest grossing Publix per sf in the entire company, so they will not close him down. I told him I was hoping they would so I could open a massive dance club in his spot. :lol:

I spoke with the MGR at WaterColor last week about this. He said as long as it was west of 331 he had no problem. He has the highest grossing Publix per sf in the entire company, so they will not close him down. I told him I was hoping they would so I could open a massive dance club in his spot. :lol:

Disco Publix!

Tha ratio I've heard is that it that it takes 10,000 people to support a grocery store in an area. Take the year-round population, add in the summer tourists, and the numbers probably make sense already. Plus the products that likely sell well at the WC probably tend to be very high margin items.

So makes sense to me.

I know they have plans drawn to open one if Freeport. I have seen the plans and site.

FYI. I have always been amazed at how many national retail stores even look at this area. When you do the numbers on permanent populaion on paper, you would think that no one would consider opening a store here, much less two or three.

The economic development counsel has an interesting way to present this area to prospecive businesses. For example, in Destin, they present it as an average population of 35,000 people, when only 12,800 actually live here. I guess that is why they get paid the high bucks!😀

Publix is a very well run company, in fact, I saw where they are deemed as one of the top 100 companies to work for in the South. They have done an excellent job of utilizing every square inch for profit in the store. Personally, I think they are missing out by not having a pharmacy, but they obviously know what they are doing. And the whole time, maintaining excellent customer relations.

Bravo. We could all learn by their example.

Fuzz came home with this rumor last week. There is plenty of business to support another Publix in the Santa Rosa Beach area. Evidently the Publix at Grand Boulevard is also showing amazing gross sales numbers.

If they do, I ask three things:
(1) Please include a pharmacy - God I'm spoiled! The pharmacy at Publix/Grand Boulevard is much closer and more pleasant than going to Wal-Mart used to be, but going to Sandestin after a less-than-pleasant work day makes me need more prescriptions.
(2) The sauces the Grand Boulevard store puts on their chicken tenders are great, especially since I am too tired to cook anything by the time I drag home from Sandestin. They don't do that at Watercolor. Please bring that closer too.
(3) This may not be tactful, but...don't tell the local kids you don't have any entry-level openings and then bring in a new crop of europeans. If I didn't like shopping there so much, I'd boycott you.

I'm not hard to please, really. 😀

Disco Publix!

Any Atlantans remember the Disco Kroger?

I know they have plans drawn to open one if Freeport. I have seen the plans and site.

This is interesting. I had an unrelated meeting with the district manager a couple of months ago and asked him about Publix opening in Freeport. I told him rumors were all over about it happening. He said that Freeport couldn't support a store, and that we wouldn't get one any time soon. He said the way to tell if they are coming to town is to wait until all the rumors go away. I guess that they operate kind of like old Walt Disney used to, to try to keep their land costs reasonable. Now, he may have been trying to squash the rumor for that very purpose, but he seemed genuine.

How will I ever make the choice between Kelly's and Publix when the day comes:idontno:

Correction regarding the location of the newly proposed Publix in SoWal. The actual location is about 3-4 miles east of the western intersection of 30A/98. (About one mile east of hwy 393). As for the Freeport rumor of Publix, I'll believe it when I see it. A couple of years ago, I was working with some buyers who buy property, then lease to Publix. They were looking at Niceville primarily. We also looked at some prime property in Freeport, but Publix wanted to see the population numbers to support a store, so they quickly said no thanks. Their are some very attractive economical perks regarding operating a store in Freeport, and perhaps Publix peeps are unaware of it.Publix or Kelly's? Kelly's reminds me of a small dirty Winn Dixie.

Disco Publix!

Any Atlantans remember the Disco Kroger?

It was once the closest grocery store to where I lived on East Paces! Good times...

Disco Publix!

It's probably not too odd of a concept. There have been a couple of times I've caught them playing Grateful Dead songs at the Destin store (no better soundtrack to picking up the Gatorade than 'Truckin') in amongst the holiday tunes.

The rumors of a Niceville Publix seem fairly reasonable at this time. There's a sizeable commercial development going in on John Simms near Rocky Bayou GC. Land is cleared, and they've got a soft confirmation that Home Depot is going in there already.

As for Freeport, a lot of people from there skip Kelly's and end up at the (mediocre) Bluewater Winn-Dixie. Whenever I have to pick up one or two things from there, it seems like half the license plates in the parking lot are from Walton County.

Well, I have a reliable source from Freeport City Hall that there will indeed positively be a Publix in Freeport and it will be somewhere down the new road that's almost finished.

Viva la fried chicken family packs! 😀

This is interesting. I had an unrelated meeting with the district manager a couple of months ago and asked him about Publix opening in Freeport. I told him rumors were all over about it happening. He said that Freeport couldn't support a store, and that we wouldn't get one any time soon. He said the way to tell if they are coming to town is to wait until all the rumors go away. I guess that they operate kind of like old Walt Disney used to, to try to keep their land costs reasonable. Now, he may have been trying to squash the rumor for that very purpose, but he seemed genuine.

How will I ever make the choice between Kelly's and Publix when the day comes:idontno:

I dunno:idontno: I ddin't get my information from Publix. The planning commission in Freeport has a graph of many things that have been proposed and approved..... There are a huge amount of information on that map.

Look on the bright side....I will be able to do my "touron :roll:" Publix shopping in under 2 hours when I make my annual trip to Seagrove. :clap:

Kelly's reminds me of a small dirty Winn Dixie.

Kelly's has that urinal cake smell. Not what I want to be smelling while shopping for food.

Kelly's has that urinal cake smell. Not what I want to be smelling while shopping for food.

aww...you didn't have to say urinal cake...

Look on the bright side....I will be able to do my "touron :roll:" Publix shopping in under 2 hours when I make my annual trip to Seagrove. :clap:

Kathy , we'll have to stay away from that "touronic urinal cake" :roll: next time we are in Sowal. It probably tastes like "foot in mouth cake tailgate style"