A new Publix just opened in The Falls area, and shoppers have been talking. Take a look
Publix customers in The Falls area of South Miami-Dade have been waiting for their nearly 30-year-old store to turn into a modern “prototype” Publix for so long, you’d think they were anticipating a Taylor Swift tour stop.
We certainly heard the chatter while shopping. That Publix, almost central between nearby Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay and across the street from The Falls shopping center, has been a topic of conversation for five years, ever since plans for a remodel and rebuild came to light.
The newly-built store as the centerpiece of the rebuilt Briar Bay Shopping Center at 13005 SW 89th Place — Publix owns the strip mall — opened Thursday, Feb. 27.
How does the new Publix compare?
The new store is considerably bigger than the 32,000 square-foot store it replaced. That Publix store opened in October 1997, replacing a Hyde Park Market at the ‘70s-era mall.
The just-opened Publix is 53,287 square feet and adds a second story to the main store. There’s a separate adjacent liquor store on ground level. Not all Publixes have dedicated liquor stores. The Briar Bay Publix gains its own garage on the first level to complement the repaved surface lots around the strip mall.
The new store, like the giant 64,000-square-foot new build Publix that opened in Key Largo’s Tradewinds Plaza in Key Largo last year, will also have a dining area where you can enjoy the new soft white bread sub roll the deli just started offering for Pub Subs.
Familiar Publix departments
“We are excited to open this much-anticipated store,” said Lindsey Willis, Publix media relations manager. “We look forward to welcoming our customers to their new Miami Publix, introducing them to an array of new offerings and providing them with the service and quality products they know and love.”
Accent on the “know” because, naturally, the new Publix will still feature the departments that most traditional stores contain. That means grocery, dairy, frozen food, seafood, meat and fresh produce, deli and full-service bakery. Most Publixes also have pharmacies, as this one does..
Publix expansion across Florida
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Publix is closing in on 1,400 stores in its home base state of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky.
In addition to the Briar Bay opening Thursday, Publix opened a new 48,387 square-foot store at Sweetbay Town Center in Panama City on Wednesday in Northwest Florida between Tallahassee and Pensacola. That one will also have an adjacent Publix Liquors outlet.
In addition to new stores in its home state of Florida, Publix is opening supermarkets in Kentucky and North Carolina in March.
Here are some of the upcoming Florida locations:
March 6
▪ Publix at Newberry Farms, 24100 W Newberry Rd. in Newberry in Alachua County. Size: 54,964 square feet.
March 12
▪ Publix at Blue Angel Plaza, 9500 W Hwy 98 in Pensacola’s Escambia County. Size: 46,791 square feet.
March 13
▪ Publix at Shops at The Grove, 4112 E Johnson Ave. in Haines City in a rapidly developing section of Polk County, according to The Ledger. Size: 48,387 square feet.
This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
