Publix voted best grocery chain in US (Miami, Pensacola: live, prices)

[valicky]

It's a sad state of affairs for the U.S. if Publix is considered the best. The produce is horrendous and the meat and seafood isn't much better. That's what's important. Any grocer can have good canned goods and boxed goods. Florida has a love affair with Publix because they have no competition. Publix does have excellent customer service. It's a shame their fresh food isn't on par.

[AnnRyan]

Originally Posted by Carolina Knight

Sadly, four Winn-Dixie stores in Florida are among 23 BI-LO, Harvey's Supermarkets, and Winn-Dixie stores Southeastern Grocers is closing chain-wide in June. Additional stores have also closed food (grocery, meat, produce, and seafood) and pharmacy departments, have eliminated hourly full-time positions, and have converted to Harvey's Supermarkets and Fresco y Más banners.

Every time I hear fresco y mas... I think that a lot of stuff in the store must not be fresh. Horrible Name Carolina Knight.

[BNBR]

Originally Posted by valicky

It's a sad state of affairs for the U.S. if Publix is considered the best. The produce is horrendous and the meat and seafood isn't much better. That's what's important. Any grocer can have good canned goods and boxed goods. Florida has a love affair with Publix because they have no competition. Publix does have excellent customer service. It's a shame their fresh food isn't on par.

Publix has no competition because Florida has a love affair with them. You have it backwards. Publix had plenty of competition and they all went out of business because everyone preferred to shop at Publix. Albertsons used to be here and Winn-Dixie was much more prominent.

I like Publix as a solid grocery store. You certainly don't get a "wow factor" walking into one, though. It's just a grocery store.

[cfbs2691]

I was told that Winn Dixie started out as a butcher store.
Are their stores a little "odd"?
Definitely.
But their meat department is WAY better than Publix.

[60SeaRay]

Better "Mainstream" grocers ??? lol you call Walmart, Kroger, etc not "mainstream" ??


go back to sleep...


What would you call Albertson's out west ? LOL

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by WrongStreet

According to this article, Publix beat out Whole Foods, Kroger, and Walmart and tied with Wegmans as the top grocery chain in the US.


Americans love Publix ? here's why - Business Insider


Interesting since I always thought of Publix being a regional chain confined only to Florida, Georgia and maybe Alabama. But it seems Publix is in seven states including Virginia and Tennessee. Had no idea they made it that far north.


I still remember when I moved to South Florida seeing such a contrast between Publix and Winn Dixie in terms of cleanliness and organization. Most Winn Dixies were a total mess, while Publix were all super clean and orderly.

Though I am one of those who believe those types of surveys are only as good as the day they are taken, very subjective, I do agree Publix is a great place to shop. This isn't the first time I have seen them make the top of a survey list. There are a few others as well. I do think Publix is a regional chain just like you thought even though they come out on top often.

BTW for those who compare them with Winn-Dixie, many of the Winn-Dixie stores in Texas have closed. I don't think they are anything as good as they used to be years ago.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by MegaJoy

Safeway! Giants! ( Maryland )

Loved Giant when we lived in VA. I still miss them after all these years. Often they would make the top of the best lists.

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Though I am one of those who believe those types of surveys are only as good as the day they are taken, very subjective.

Great post!
I often think these surveys are paid PR "surveys"... even when they list cities, states... "best place to..."

[Blue Sunday]

Originally Posted by rnc2mbfl

Harris Teeter is a much better grocer. Agreed. If Harris Teeter was in South Florida, you'd see why I say that.
As for Publix being outside the state, the reality is that most of the stores are still in Florida and it doesn't really have much true competition in a huge chunk of its market. According to Wikipedia, Florida had over 67% of its total store count as of 2015.

Harris Teeter was based on the Giant Foods of Landover model.The original owners were good friends.

[Thundarr457]

Wikipedia:

Harris Teeter originally operated three stores in the greater Jacksonville area when they expanded into that market in the late 1990s. However, only one store remains open serving Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach, and thus making it Harris Teeter's only Florida location, albeit just south of the Georgia border. The Mandarin area store closed in 2004. October 3, 2006, brought the closing of its Ponte Vedra Beach location.

Kroger merger[edit]
It was announced on July 9, 2013, that Kroger would buy Harris Teeter for $2.4 billion in cash. The company became a subsidiary of Kroger and continued to operate under the Harris Teeter brand.[18] The merger closed on January 29, 2014, upon which chairman Thomas Dickson announced his retirement.[5] The deal represents a return of sorts to the Charlotte market for Kroger; it had previously operated stores under its own moniker in Charlotte from 1977 to 1988. It also allowed Kroger to enter Asheville. Charlotte and Asheville had been the only large markets in the Carolinas where Kroger had no presence.

In June 2015, Harris Teeter exited the crowded Nashville, Tennessee market, where its growth was stunted by aggressive competition from Publix (which expanded into the area around the same time as Harris Teeter), as well as other specialty grocers such as Trader Joe's, The Fresh Market, and Whole Foods, who have all since opened stores in the proximity of Harris Teeter locations.[19] Kroger has traditionally had a market-leading presence in Nashville, and initially promised to keep the Harris Teeter stores open after the acquisition,[20] but later said the market "did not support Harris Teeter's future business plans."[21] Harris Teeter closed one Nashville-area store soon after opening in the early-2000s, but five survived into 2015. The first of those closed in February,[22] another was permanently closed in June, and the remaining three were converted to Kroger stores by 2016 (one of which replaced a nearby existing Kroger store).[23]