709 E. 3rd Ave
Welcome to the Indian River Village Publix!
Once again, we're in the Sunshine State! And you can't stay in Florida without going to Publix. So, today, we'll be taking a tour of one of the three Publix locations in the town of New Smyrna Beach, located about 15 miles south of Daytona Beach. Publix first opened a location in this shopping center on June 23, 1976. They closed the store on July 8, 2002, and soon after demolished and rebuilt it, with the new location opening not much later on December 12, 2002. A fun fact about this store is that former Publix CEO and current executive chairman Todd Jones began his career with the company as a bagger at this store in 1980. Thanks to Albertsons Florida Blog for all of that info! This is our first time at a Publix since last February, so let's head inside and check this store out...
We enter on the left side of the store, with the pharmacy up on the front wall next to the entrance. This store has Publix's current decor, known as Evergreen. It previously had Sienna/Classy Market 3.0, and I would think it opened with Metallic Marketplace, but don't quote me on that.
A small floral department is next to the pharmacy. While I don't hate this decor, it's definitely pretty gray (especially for a decor called Evergreen).
The deli and bakery departments are in the front corner as we transition to the right side of the store. The deli department was already quite busy for mid-morning.
Across from the deli department is a soda fountain, which isn't unusual at all for Publix, but I definitely don't see it at supermarkets in my area.
The large produce department is in the back right corner. Now we're seeing green!
While the deli and bakery departments are pretty big, the seafood counter on the back wall is quite small.
The meat department takes up much of the back wall. The white meat cases go well with this decor, but they seem pretty dated compared to darker ones.
Aisle 8, with various items that can be read and other general merchandise.
And the last aisle of the store contains dairy and frozen items. There's a small beach section at the end of this aisle. This is the town's closest supermarket to the beach (a Winn-Dixie and another Publix are further back, a Food Lion-turned-Dollar General Market is to the south, and a Walmart Supercenter is on the other side of I-95).
Now we're checking out of this store and probably chatting with our cashier and bagger. Publix definitely has the friendliest employees out of any supermarket chain I've been to.
And, before we go, here's a look at the Publix Liquors located in one of the neighboring strips. Publix is a co-anchor of this center, along with Bealls (making it a very Floridian plaza).
Other Images of Interest
Street View Images
2019
Prior to the remodel to Evergreen, this store definitely had a more vibrant color scheme.
Nearby competition
2.5 miles away: Dollar General Market of New Smyrna Beach
This store's geographically closest competition is this Dollar General Market on South Atlantic Avenue. It opened on November 19, 2012 as the first such store in the Daytona Beach area. The store was originally a SuperX Food & Drug in the mid '80s, and was acquired by Food Lion in the late '80s before closing in February 2012.
3.4 miles away: Winn-Dixie of New Smyrna Beach
Next week, we'll be taking a tour of the New Smyrna Beach Winn-Dixie, which opened in 1996 as a "Marketplace" store replacing their previous location in town from 1984. People driving into NSB from I-95 will drive past this store before this Publix, but the latter seemed more popular.
4.6 miles away: Aldi of New Smyrna Beach
The New Smyrna Beach Aldi opened on August 4, 2016, on formerly empty land. This store lost a close competitor last August when Aldi acquired Winn-Dixie, making them sister stores.
Thank you for joining me on this tour! This was a pretty nice Publix, and I always love going to unfamiliar stores. I have been to other Publix locations before, but the only one I really remember is the one in Orlando that we toured in February, and that's a small-format store, unlike this one. Join me next week as we head to the Winn-Dixie in town! The Retail Connection: Where Shopping is a Pleasure.
