Is there a Publix opening near you? Check the list of new supermarkets in Florida

Howard Cohen

Two of Florida’s grocery giants, Publix and Winn-Dixie, are announcing the openings of new stores in the state.

Here’s where you can find the new arrivals.

Publix

▪ The Lakeland-based Publix opened its latest store on Thursday, March 2, at Gandy Shopping Center in Tampa.

The nearly 60,000-square-foot store is at 3617 W. Gandy Blvd. in Hillsborough County and has a pharmacy and a liquor department.

▪ The opening comes after the chain opened a new 48,000-square-foot location in Auburndale at 775 Highway 559 near Lake Juliana Landings and the 21 Palms Travel Resort on Feb. 23.

Thursday’s opening is the third new Florida store to open so far in 2023.

▪ On Jan. 23, Publix opened a new 23,000-square-foot store at 16024 Pines Blvd. in Pembroke Pines. The new store’s neighbor? An older Publix just across the street at Paraiso Parc on 15729 Pines Blvd. The older store isn’t going anywhere.

“As a whole, we look for opportunities to best serve our customers and, in some cases, alleviate congestion in stores, in addition to allowing for the best traffic patterns in a particular area,” said Lindsey Willis, media relations manager for Publix.

▪ Publix plans to open its fourth new Florida store on March 8. That 48,000-square-foot location will be at Wynnehaven Plaza at 10040 Navarre Pkwy. in Navarre in Santa Rosa County.

Winn-Dixie

▪ The Jacksonville-based Southeastern Grocers, parent company of Winn-Dixie and Fresco y Más, opened a new Winn-Dixie, 41,500-square foot store at the Grand Cypress shopping center in Jacksonville’s St. Johns County at 100 Little Cypress Dr., with an adjoining 2,000-square-foot liquor outlet, on Dec. 14.

The opening is part of the chain’s growth that will continue in 2023, Winsight Grocery Business reported in December. The company has opened a new supermarket in a Jacksonville suburb and plans to add another location in that market plus a new Winn-Dixie store in Central Florida later this year.

Two more Winn-Dixie stores are planned in Florida this year.

▪ A 47,000-square-foot store in Apopka, Florida, just north of Orlando, at 611 E. Main St. in the Apopka City Center shopping center should open early this year. The chain did not specify an exact date.

▪ In the summer, a nearly 49,000-square-foot Winn-Dixie is planned for 999 University Blvd. in Jacksonville’s College Park neighborhood. That one will take over a shuttered Winn-Dixie store at the former Town & Country Shopping Center.

READ MORE: We went grocery shopping in Miami for you to compare prices.

Temporary closing of Kendall Winn-Dixie

The Winn-Dixie at 8710 SW 72nd St. in a Kendall-area neighborhood off Sunset Drive in Miami has been closed since July 2022 due to roof damage, parent company Southeastern Grocers said. The shuttered store in a strip mall is pictured here on March 2, 2023.
The Winn-Dixie at 8710 SW 72nd St. in a Kendall-area neighborhood off Sunset Drive in Miami has been closed since July 2022 due to roof damage, parent company Southeastern Grocers said. The shuttered store in a strip mall is pictured here on March 2, 2023.

Winn-Dixie customers in the Kendall area of Miami-Dade County might be wondering about the flip side of new openings.

The Winn-Dixie at 8710 SW 72nd St. in a strip mall off Sunset Drive has been closed since July 2022 after Southeastern Grocers found several roof leaks after a routine inspection.

But nearly a year later, the store stands with empty shelves visible beyond the yellow police tape lining the front entrance.

A red banner marked “temporarily closed,” flaps against the front doors, announcing, “We’ll be open again soon.”

“We’ll be open again soon,” a red banner noting the temporary closing of a Winn-Dixie at 8710 SW 72nd St. in a Kendall-area strip mall waves at the front enrance on Feb. 20, 2023. But this store has been closed since July 2022 due to roof damage, parent company Southeastern Grocers said.
“We’ll be open again soon,” a red banner noting the temporary closing of a Winn-Dixie at 8710 SW 72nd St. in a Kendall-area strip mall waves at the front enrance on Feb. 20, 2023. But this store has been closed since July 2022 due to roof damage, parent company Southeastern Grocers said.

The electricity is on, casting an eerie glow around the closed store. A couple of grocery carts sit undisturbed outside the door off the parking lot that also hosts a Japanese buffet, a bank, bakery and a gas station.

Inside the store, next to where produce once piled atop display cases, a scanner lays askew against a cashier counter. The hand-held device seems abandoned, as if someone was in a hurry to get out. The wand’s green eyes still pulse out flashes to scan groceries that haven’t crossed its path in some eight months.

Meredith Hurley, Winn-Dixie’s senior director of communications, told the Miami Herald in February that the store on Sunset “has experienced a prolonged closure to remediate leaks in the roof structure that require extensive repairs.”

Safety of staffer and customers is a top priority, she added. “We will be sure to let the community know as soon as we are able to safely re-open our doors.”

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