[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by 8to32characters

Ralphs, which is the largest Kroger subsidiary and based primarily in Southern California, wipes the floor with any Publix store I've ever had the displeasure of shopping at, and I lived in Florida for 12 years. Nothing comparable in FL, unfortunately.

I bet. Items probably jump off the shelves when u mention its name. There must be robots roving around sweeping, mopping and waxing the floors. At the check out I guess they have staff there in black vests with white shirts and little ties putting your groceries on the check out stand where the clerk rings up every single item by turning on the flat bed scanner under the top. Produce probably disintegrate the moment a blemish, bump or decay starts. Of course there are waiters walking around with snacks and drinks for you while you shop.

Here if poor ole FL we have to put our purchases in the basket and push it to the front where we have to manually load them onto the belt to be scanned and bagged. If you ask a clerk for assistance on the floor they will slap you and tell you you're being silly. Forget about deli counter service. They call numbers at random and if nobody claims the number they shut down the deli for an hour so people can catch up with their numbers. Oh the shame the shame.

[allenk893]

The last thing Florida needs is another grocery store. I grew up with Walmart, Sam's Club, Publix, and Winn-Dixie. Now in addition to all of that, there is Trader Joe's & Whole Foods. I think the madness needs to stop. Instead of adding more grocery stores, the state needs to focus on building sectors that can bring the economy up and attract educated professionals like the IT and medical field.

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

I bet. Items probably jump off the shelves when u mention its name. There must be robots roving around sweeping, mopping and waxing the floors. At the check out I guess they have staff there in black vests with white shirts and little ties putting your groceries on the check out stand where the clerk rings up every single item by turning on the flat bed scanner under the top. Produce probably disintegrate the moment a blemish, bump or decay starts. Of course there are waiters walking around with snacks and drinks for you while you shop.

Here if poor ole FL we have to put our purchases in the basket and push it to the front where we have to manually load them onto the belt to be scanned and bagged. If you ask a clerk for assistance on the floor they will slap you and tell you you're being silly. Forget about deli counter service. They call numbers at random and if nobody claims the number they shut down the deli for an hour so people can catch up with their numbers. Oh the shame the shame.

Poor baby, just never found anything in Florida that he/she/it didn't find utterly appalling, it seems!

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

When I first moved to Atlanta, it had Publix, Kroger, Winn-Dixie, Ingles, A&P, and Bruno's. Probably more, heck, there may have even been a Piggly Wiggly here or there.

I think the grocery space has just gotten more competitive.

Of course, we didn't have Whole Foods, Fresh Market, Trader Joe's, or Sprouts....so maybe consumer tastes are just changing.

And Kroger actually seems to be responding to that better than Publix. The Kroger by my house has an organic section that is almost as large as a Trader Joe's store.

I think that's more of a function of stores responding to the demands of the population where the stores are located. Some of the Publix in more upscale locations where folks have the money to spend on organic products have large organic sections, other Publix may not. In fact, in catering to the large Hispanic population in south Florida- Publix has also launched eight new stores now that they've named "Publix Sabor", which they tout as catering more than their other stores to South American and Caribbean populations in these locations.

I believe in doing this Publix hopes to compete with Sedanos, which is another chain of stores located in south and central Florida. These stores are owned by Hispanics and cater to this population.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by allenk893

The last thing Florida needs is another grocery store. I grew up with Walmart, Sam's Club, Publix, and Winn-Dixie. Now in addition to all of that, there is Trader Joe's & Whole Foods. I think the madness needs to stop. Instead of adding more grocery stores, the state needs to focus on building sectors that can bring the economy up and attract educated professionals like the IT and medical field.

Walmart and Sam's Club are not "grocery stores" and Winn Dixie is very limited with their locations in the state so Publix in essence does have a near-monopoly in the state. Other areas of the country have the warehouse stores as well plus at least three grocery stores chains competing against one another which helps keep prices down and quality up. Most Floridians I realize are ambivalent about this and other matters (including voting) but the reality is what it is. The only madness is thinking otherwise. Would you rather Publix were like Comcast or AT&T? That's worked out so well...

[sware2cod]

I would like to see a Kroger in FL also. Publix is way too dominant in much of Florida. Publix needs more competition.

Winn Dixie, IMO, is going downhill now that they are owned by a different company. Their(WD) prices are too high for what they bring to the table and their service is awful(don't wring up sales prices for items that are on-sale, cashiers don't care and don't want to be bothered about that). Maybe when Winn Dixie finally digs their own grave ....maybe Kroger will step in and buy them at a fire sale - then turn all the current Winn Dixie locations into Kroger. I give WD 3-4 years until they go under.

[Jo48]

Sweetbay moved out of Naples over a year ago. The little mall (across from a Publix) where they were is still empty, and deserted. I liked Sweetbay, and a choice of something other than Publix.

There is a Winn Dixie over in Golden Gate, but the one time I went there it just looked really dirty. No thanks. I wouldn't mind a Whole Food or Trader Joes in that Mall where Sweetbay used to be.

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by Travelassie

Poor baby, just never found anything in Florida that he/she/it didn't find utterly appalling, it seems!

Must have been rough on them.

[veggienut]

I like both Kroger's & Publix. I heard a rumor that Kroger's tried to buy Publix, but it didn't pan out. I like Publix for what items they carry that I can't get at Kroger's at home but in general our Kroger's here is excellent. Always fresh veggies and fruit, never rotten or anything....but some Kroger's here I heard have bad produce, as a friend told me.

[smarino]

What's wrong w/ Publix? We really like ours. The prices are a little dear, but the shopping experience sure beats Walmart! If you look at their weekly flyers and buy smartly you can do quite well there. The delis are very nice, and ours has a great selection of organic produce.