3050 54th Ave S.
Welcome to the Seville Square Publix!
...it sure has been a while! I had figured that it was time for a break after 79 continuous weeks of posts. No, I haven't moved to Florida in the meantime --- I was just visiting --- but it's a "pleasure" to be back with not just a Publix, but my first Publixsons! This store originally opened as a Skaggs-Albertsons on February 11, 1976, being St. Petersburg's second location of the chain, and was renamed to Albertsons in 1977. In the early 2000s, the store received a new facade, an attached liquor store, and an interior renovation to the extravagant and incredible Grocery Palace decor (also known as Acme Theme Park). On June 9, 2008, it was announced that this Albertsons would be one of 49 locations in Florida sold to Publix, the dominant supermarket chain in the state (at the time of the sale, they had 54% of the market share in Florida; the next closest was Winn-Dixie, with 15%, and Albertsons had just 2%). Albertsons left the building in late 2008, and Publix opened on January 15, 2009. Publix refreshed the decor before opening, repainting the walls and adding Classy Market 2.0 signs. Around 2016, the store got an update again to the Classy Market 3.0 decor; but, as we'll see, the remodel wasn't nearly as thorough as is typical with Publix stores.
This store has two entrances, both of which are on the left side of the building. As we enter, we see the "welcome to Publix" sign, the pickup area for mobile orders, and various promotional items. But, more importantly, we see the remnants of the Albertsons Grocery Palace decor! Amazingly, Publix left up all of the crown molding and other wall decor, simply repainting and hanging up their own signage. In the Albertsons days, the Reading Center would have been in this area (along the front wall of the store, behind where I took this picture), and possibly Starbucks Coffee (if this store had that).
In typical Grocery Palace fashion, the pharmacy is on an island as we enter the grand aisle. Here's an image of how this area would've looked when this store was an Albertsons. Although, the pharmacy in this store would've been branded as Albertsons, not Osco. For some reason, Publix doesn't use the window that shoppers see as they enter the store, instead having the counter in the back of the island.
Publix's famous deli and bakery departments, as well as the produce section -- which I don't understand to be as well-known -- make up the left side of the store. I love all black and white cookies, but Publix's are the absolute best, so I highly recommend them if you ever happen to stop in their bakery.
The meat cases are on the back wall beyond the produce department. Obviously, the wood panels are an Albertsons leftover. Also, I always find it interesting that Publix uses white cases. They look new and dated at the same time.
Canned foods, beans, and other Great Depression-esque foods can be found in aisle 3. This is probably the most Publix-looking shot in the entire tour, considering the aisle marker and flooring are both courtesy of them.
Here are the meat and seafood counters.
Wood paneling continues as we enter the former International Deli. As Albertsons Florida Blog pointed out, Publix doesn't have signage for this part of the store, but the selection is generally the same as it would have been at Albertsons.
The frozen food section looms behind a nice Expressions by Hallmark section near the front of the store.
Dairy and frozen foods can be found in the last few aisles of the store, with the very last aisle being under a lower ceiling. That was also a feature of Grocery Palace stores, though this store likely had an altered version because it was a remodel, not purpose-built. If you hadn't noticed, this store has a drop ceiling, while new-build stores had an exposed ceiling.
Wine is in the front corner of the store. Beer is in one of the middle aisles, but I didn't take a picture of it. You aren't missing a lot. The wine section was definitely favored in terms of visual appeal.
The customer service desk can be found on the front end, as is customary. In Grocery Palace, even something as simple as the customer service sign was elaborate and intricate.
Checkouts continue down the front end. I really like those 95 Years bags. Publix's official 95th anniversary was on September 6, 2025 (these pictures are from May). Also, now may be the time to tell you about my dream of retiring to Florida and working as a Publix bagger during the summer.
A look at floral, which is connected to the Publix Pharmacy department.
Here's a look at the Publix Liquors store, which is part of the main building. I was going to take pictures inside, but it wasn't very interesting at all, so I didn't.
Other Images of Interest
Street View Images
2026
The funny thing is that this image is newer than the rest of them -- I took these pictures and wrote everything up to here back in May 2025! At least we can see that not much as changed since I went.
2011
It certainly has changed since 2011, though. A much more vibrant color scheme back then.
2008
And here's the store back when it was an Albertsons! It's not the best quality (being a 2008 Street View image), but I figured this is probably the only time I'll ever have an image of an Albertsons on this blog, so it's fine. This was in March 2008 -- just three months before it was announced that the store would become a Publix.
And that's all! This was my third Publix post, and definitely my most interesting! Unless I make it to the Yardville Acme (and assuming that store still has its original decor), this is probably the closest I'll come to seeing Grocery Palace in person. I hope you enjoyed this post! Next time, we'll be at the Winn-Dixie in nearby South Pasadena, which somehow has an even more storied history! The Retail Connection: Where Shopping is a Pleasure.
