Are you waiting for that new 2-story Publix to open near The Falls? There’s now a date
The talk around South Miami-Dade and Kendall neighborhoods has been about the long-gestating Briar Bay Publix across the street from The Falls shopping mall.
“When is it ever going to be open?” has morphed into “I heard it’s opening in February!” That was a recent conversation between a customer and a Publix clerk at the nearby Pinecrest store’s customer service counter a few blocks away across U.S. 1.
We finally have an answer.
The construction of the replacement store is just about done and the new prototype, two-story Publix is set to open on Feb. 27, said company spokesperson Lindsey Willis.
What will the new Briar Bay Publix feature?
The 53,287-square-foot Publix at 13005 SW 89th Pl. in the rehabbed Kendall-area shopping center, which still has an Outback steakhouse, will have a seating area on the second floor for customers to sit and munch on lunch, Willis said. There will also be a parking garage on the first floor. The main store will be on the second floor.
The new Briar Bay Publix, which overlooks the Macy’s on the west side of The Falls across the road, adds a liquor store on the ground level with the parking garage.
None of these features figured in the old Publix, which this modern version replaces.
The strip mall where a Publix has sat since the mid-1970s has been a construction zone for nearly two years after the property, owned by the Lakeland supermarket chain, decided to rebuild the shopping plaza around the new two-story prototype grocery store.
READ MORE: A new two-story Publix will make over a faded Kendall mall. Here’s a sneak preview
That new Publix, oft-delayed since plans first came to light in 2020, had to wait until the old store was demolished. That process began when the old store was shuttered in 2022 and construction of the new one began in 2023.
Willis said more details on the Briar Bay store will be released closer to the opening date.
Publix’s growing trend
The Briar Bay Publix is part of a trend toward bigger stores, like the rebuilt Key Largo store at the Tradewinds Plaza shopping complex on the Overseas Highway.
When Publix opened the rebuilt Florida Keys store in February 2024, it became one of the biggest in its roster of more than 1,300 supermarkets in eight southeastern states. The Key Largo Publix opened at 64,000 square feet, replacing a 48,000-square-foot-store that had opened a few doors down in 1989. A Burlington’s moved into the vacated Publix space.
Seating areas, such as the one in the Key Largo store, and stores that sell local draft beer flights and have burrito and nacho bars, are becoming more common.
On Dec. 12, Publix opened its long anticipated dockside Publix at 3100 S. Ocean Dr. in Hollywood. Customers can dock their boats on the Intracoastal, across A1A from the Atlantic Ocean, and stroll inside the 29,912-square-foot store to shop, Willis said in December.
KNOW MORE: Publix goes yacht rock with a new dockside store in South Florida. Can you shop by boat?
Hollywood’s new store is the second South Florida Publix on a waterfront to give customers the sea to seafood department feeling. The River Landing Publix at 1420 NW North River Dr., on the Miami River, also has a dock.
You just know that if that 1980s TV series “Miami Vice” was still in production directors would film scenes at these waterfront Publix locations showing fictional detectives Sonny and Tubbs pulling up in a cigarette boat to bust a shoplifter.
Publix also plans to open a new 48,387 square foot store with a liquor and pharmacy outlet at Sweetbay Town Center in Panama City on Feb. 26.
Sprouts across Florida
Sprouts Farmers Market, the chain that puts its produce department as the star of the show, is also in expansion mode with a focus on Florida in 2025.
At least seven stores are in the planning stages for this year, according to the company.
“Bringing more than seven new stores to Florida this year is a strategic move that aligns perfectly with our growing demand for fresh, natural, and organic products in the region,” David McGlinchey, chief strategy officer of Sprouts, said in a statement to the Miami Herald. “Florida’s residents’ commitment to healthy living makes it an ideal market for our expanded footprint. We are excited to serve new neighborhoods and continue our mission of providing high-quality products and varieties that support healthy lifestyles.”
Sprouts has 51 markets in Florida, including one that opened in January 2024 as an anchor, alongside a Target, at Grove Central, a mixed-use complex by developers Terra Group and Grass River Properties at the northwest corner of U.S. 1 and Southwest 27th Avenue. That development is a featured component of the county’s Coconut Grove Metrorail station and the Underline park.
The first of the new Florida Sprouts opened Friday, Jan. 31, in St. John’s, a Jacksonville suburb. Closer to South Florida, a new store in Boynton Beach is due April 4. A Coconut Creek store in Broward follows on April 25.
A Deerfield Beach Sprouts is expected in the spring at a date and location to be announced, the company said.
Largo, in the Tampa Bay area, gets a new Sprouts on March 21. Melbourne will see a new one a week earlier, on March 14.
Sprouts will open additional stores in Palm Beach County, Orlando and St. Petersburg this year, too, according to the company.
