Publix, Florida’s favorite grocery store, explained

Could you build a company like Publix today? vox.com/culture CULTURE   People who go to Publix talk about Publix like it’s church. Taxonomically speaking, Publix isn’t a religion, but it is a regional grocery store based in the southeast United States. People rave about how clean it is and how good its food is. Once you go, you’ll understand, its acolytes tell you. There’s life before Publix and life after Publix. For the many of us who don’t live in the US’s southeast region and have never been to Publix, my colleague Emily Stewart [explained the magic allure of the grocery store]( in ways that are easily understandable — the subs are great, the products are slightly expensive, the business approach is to be apolitical as possible. The latter, as Stewart explains for our [United States of Florida package](, is getting increasingly difficult in states as politically charged as Publix’s home of Florida. What happens to everyone’s favorite grocery store when you can’t please everyone? Do Floridians care what Publix’s politics are? Can a grocery store even have politics? And does it all matter if Publix’s cake is, allegedly, delicious? —[Alex Abad-Santos](, senior correspondent P.S. Vulture’s Movies Fantasy League is back. [Sign up by September 28]( to challenge your friends and enter for a chance to win a brand new Roku TV just in time for awards season. Florida’s favorite grocery store seeks to be uncomplicated in a complicated world [Image of many Publix text logo with greenery all around it on a dark background]( Paige Vickers / Vox The lore around Publix goes as follows: George Jenkins was working as a store manager at a Piggly Wiggly in Winter Haven, Florida, when he tried to meet with the grocery chain’s new owner to talk business and introduce himself. The guy blew him off — his secretary said he was in important meetings, but Jenkins overheard him talking golf. So he quit and opened his own store, which he called Publix, right next to the Pig in 1930. He built the business gradually, its growth mirroring Florida’s, and finally took the company outside of the state in 1991, starting with Savannah, Georgia. Today, Publix employs some 250,000 people across 1,350 stores concentrated across the Southeast. It is the largest employee-owned company in the United States. Its workers — it prefers the term “associates” — get shares of stock in the company after working 1,000 hours in a year. The line among locals is that [Publix is a place where truck drivers retire millionaires](, though it’s not clear how many of those are mythical creatures. Whatever the case, many employees are doing well, the Jenkins family is sitting on piles of cash, and the company continues to succeed. Its retail sales neared $55 billion in 2022. The grocery chain, with its bright green aesthetic, is arguably Florida’s most famous truly local major company. Disney’s a transplant, it doesn’t really count. Publix is deeply ingrained in the state’s economy and culture. Before Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi made his debut at Inter Miami CF, he made his debut browsing the aisles of Publix with his family. “Lionel Messi is already a Florida man shopping at Publix,” one headline declared. Publix’s acolytes talk eagerly about the store’s customer service and cleanliness, and rave about the famous deli sandwiches, known as “Pub subs.” Did you know they’ll take your groceries to your car for you? Have you heard about that one cashier everyone waits in line for? Have you seen the bathrooms, so immaculate you could eat off the floor? [The reality around Publix, like every aspect of life, is, frankly, more real.]( The Pub subs are good; they’re also still just sandwiches, and the day I went to try one in Lakeland, Florida, where Publix is based, I waited for several minutes before a worker came over to take my order. He did have suggestions on what to get on the sub, though they were unfortunately delivered after I’d already ordered. The cashiers, honestly, do seem quite friendly, even if many people would rather do self-checkout nowadays. And I’m sorry, you really should not eat off the floor of any bathroom, ever. [Read the full story »](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( The mind-boggling scale of Disney World The happiest place on earth, explained by the numbers. [Read the full story »]( The dream — and reality — of moving to Florida One of the fastest-growing states in the nation is also one of the most complicated. [Read the full story »](   Support our work We aim to explain what we buy, why we buy it, and why it matters. Support our mission by making a gift today. [Give](   More good stuff to read today - ["Florida Man," explained]( - [Jann Wenner is what happens when privilege distorts reality]( - [Drew Barrymore tried to live, laugh, scab her way across the picket line. 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