Want to drink draft beer and munch burritos at Publix? Prototype stores coming to Miami
“OMG a popcorn area. Burritos, nachos and more!”
The breathless exhortation on an Instagram post by fan group Publix Finds was about the opening of a new prototype Publix in Tampa.
The store, along with another in Florida in nearby Wesley Chapel, features a Pours bar that serves drinks, smoothies and local draft beer flights — “5 dollar beers while you shop!” The shopping carts here have cup holders.
In addition to the popcorn station near the deli that touts different varieties like cheddar and caramel, there’s a “Chipotle-like” hot food section that serves burritos with an array of garnishes like black and borracho beans, pico de gallo and cheeses. There’s Tex-Mex and Asian chicken and beef bowls, too.
Sound like something you’d like to try without taking a road trip from the 305?
Publix spokeswoman Lindsey Willis said two prototype stores are coming to South Florida, in Coral Gables and near The Falls.
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Where will new Publix prototypes be in Miami area?
The Briar Bay Publix across the street from The Falls, in a strip mall owned by the Lakeland-based supermarket chain, started demolition last fall. That location is being rebuilt at 13005 SW 89th Place in the Kendall area and will be one of the prototypes, Willis said.
A long-planned 47,000-square-foot Coral Gables location at 1542 S. Dixie Hwy. will be the other fancy new Publix, Willis confirmed. That one will rise from the rubble of the former Riviera Plaza strip shopping center that was initially sold in 2015 and demolished by 2021. It’s not confirmed yet if this Publix will replace the nearby Gables 1401 Monza Ave. store around the corner that was opened in August 1963 but is considered antiquated for the populous neighborhood.
The Dixie Highway plaza once held a movie theater that had opened in 1956 as the Loew’s Riviera and twinned by GCC in 1974 and later turned into a five-screen multiplex. The Riviera theater closed in 1999 when a larger movie venue opened nearby at the Shops at Sunset Place and was later converted into a home for Area Stage.
“They will be one of our newer prototypes so they could include some of the features you have seen in recently opened locations,” Willis said.
Willis could not offer a timeline for when these two new prototype stores will open. In April, South Florida Business Journal said the Gables Publix is looking at an 18-month time frame for completion.
Other Publix openings
Willis also said a new Fort Lauderdale Publix at 1750 N. Federal Hwy. is coming soon and will have a seating area at the front of the store. Opening date to come.
Elsewhere in Florida, a 46,791-square-foot Publix is opening Aug. 15 at Plaza at Normandy in Jacksonville and will have a separate liquor store on site.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect opening date for the Monza Avenue Publix in Coral Gables. That store opened in August 1963.
This story was originally published August 8, 2024 at 1:55 PM.
