Today’s review is for the Chicken Tender Sub from Publix.
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Virginia Beach development seems primed for a Publix grocery store
The developer of a new project in the Strawbridge area has set aside space for an anchor supermarket, but he declined to name the store.
Could Publix, a Florida-based chain known for its subs and baked goods, be a front-runner?
The clues are vague but intriguing:
The company recently announced plans to expand into Richmond and other parts of Virginia.
Virginia Beach Planning Commission member Bob Thornton said he heard about Publix’s interest in Hampton Roads a year ago at a retail real estate conference in Washington, D.C.
The main space for an anchor tenant seems to fit the size Publix likes at just under 50,000 square feet.
Thornton, a commercial broker with Thalhimer real estate company, doesn’t know whether Publix will make its Hampton Roads debut at Hickman Place, at the corner of General Booth Boulevard and Nimmo Parkway.
“I don’t know where they’re looking,” he said. “There aren’t but so many places you can build a new 50,000-square-foot grocery box.”
Other new grocers have announced they are coming to Virginia Beach. Wegmans and German companies Aldi and Lidl are planning new stores in the city.
Developer Michael Sifen has been working on the 12-acre Hickman Place development for about two years. The site is home to the historic Hickman House, which some residents wanted to preserve.
Sifen decided to move the two-story brick home to the northwest corner of the site on General Booth Boulevard. It will become a coffee shop or similar business, said Sifen’s attorney, Eddie Bourdon.
Sifen this month asked the city to redistribute some of the space on the property to give an anchor store more room. He originally set aside 32,000 square feet for an anchor tenant but wanted to increase it to 45,600 square feet.
Bourdon could not confirm what grocery store Sifen is in talks with. He did say that whatever chain moves into Hickman Place will be new to the Hampton Roads market.
Sifen is also working on a development that would bring a Wegmans to the Town Center area.
When Sifen originally pitched Hickman Place, he mentioned brands like Whole Foods or The Fresh Market, both of which have locations in Virginia Beach.
Publix’s most recently opened stores range from 45,600 square feet to 49,000 square feet, according to its website. Some stores in Florida, where the chain is based, are the largest, with over 50,000 square feet .
Other grocery chains that have announced Virginia Beach locations have been smaller or much larger than Publix stores in the region.
Wegmans’ Beach location will be 130,000 square feet. Two new Aldi stores will be 10,000 and 18,000 square feet. One of the two new Lidl stores in the city will be 35,000 square feet.
Publix announced new stores in Bristol and Glen Allen last year. By summer, the company had acquired 10 Martin’s grocery stores in the Richmond area that will be converted into Publix stores.
http://pilotonline.com/business/consumer/virginia-beach-development-seems-primed-for-a-publix-grocery-store/article_dec9727d-e370-50e8-9e05-9ebc93d19b30.html
Publix: We’re still giving out free deli meat samples
There was a stampede of concern among Florida supermarket customers Wednesday with a media report indicating Publix Super Markets was nixing free deli meat samples.
It appears Deligate was somewhat exaggerated, or at least misunderstood.
Publix said it’s trying out a pilot program at more than 200 of its stores in parts of central and southwest Florida in which customers automatically get a sample of fresh-sliced “cheese of the week” when they order at the deli. If they still want to sample a slice of meat for free, that option is available. The meat sample just won’t be given out as a matter of routine at the pilot stores.
We are exposing our customers to new products that they may not have had an opportunity to taste and offering them a sample of that product,” said Maria Brous, a spokeswoman for the Lakeland-based Publix. “If they want to taste the products ordering, we’ll be glad to let them taste that product in that order, or any other in the deli case they want to taste.”
Brous insisted the move wasn’t about trimming costs but rather exposing people to more of what the grocer has to offer. The pilot program began in January for an unspecific amount of time.
“There are a lot of interesting products in our deli case and we’d like our customers to be able to try some of those interesting products,” Brous said.
http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2017/02/08/publix-we-still-giving-out-deli-meat-samples/97656196/