Groceries are restocking. Publix is closing earlier than usual to make that easier
Starting Saturday, Publix stores and pharmacies will close at 8 p.m. daily as the company deals with the novel coronavirus situation and customer reaction.
The Lakeland-based supermarket chain said it cut store hours (most Publix locations close at 11 p.m. or 10 p.m.) “to better serve our customers, give our store teams time to conduct additional preventive sanitation and restock product on shelves.”
Staff members were restocking seafood and meat counters when the Coral Gables store at 1401 Monza Ave. opened Saturday, though frozen-food shelves were still bare.
The Publix at 1900 West Ave. in Miami Beach had been bought out of raw chicken, pork and ground beef Saturday morning. That sent folks to the nearby still-new Trader Joe’s at West Avenue and 17th Street, where customers formed a line out the door at the 9 a.m. opening.
An hour earlier, Trader Joe’s at 9205 S. Dixie Hwy. opened to a rush of shoppers. Most items were well stocked, with the exception of milk and meat. Most of that would be on shelves around 10 a.m., a manager told customers, with the exception of red meat, which wouldn’t arrive Saturday.
Southeastern Grocers, which runs Winn-Dixie and Fresco Y Mas stores, said via Saturday morning email that it hasn’t changed hours at any of its stores yet. The Fresh Market communicated the same via the same method Saturday afternoon.
Walmart said earlier in the week it was considering closing some of its 24-hour stores for a few hours each day “to allow for additional cleaning.”
This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 8:40 AM.
