A tornado destroyed a new Publix 2 weeks before opening. Now, it’s back
On Oct. 9, 2024, a string of tornados, whipped to a frenzy by Category 3 Hurricane Milton, battered parts of Florida, ripping apart a steel sheriff’s building and flinging a dumpster into the roof of a home.
Then that South Florida tornado really got angry, gathering its winds to a 140 mph fist from Wellington to Jupiter. An EF-3 tornado like this one can whip up winds of 136-165 mph.
“The tornado intensified as it approached Northlake Boulevard on the north end of The Acreage, then did its most considerable damage in the Avenir community of Palm Beach Gardens. At the beginning of this community, a large portion of the roof collapsed of a Publix supermarket building which was recently completed and set to open in the near future, and rated EF-3,” National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Molleda wrote in a report to the media nearly two years ago.
And now that new Publix, which was supposed to open on Halloween 2024 and had to be demolished and redone from ground up, has been rebuilt.
The completed Avenir Town Center store in Palm Beach Gardens opens at 7 a.m. Thursday, May 21, said Publix spokeswoman Lindsey Willis.
After the tornado damage, “it’s especially meaningful to open our doors and continue being there for our customers with the service and quality products they know and love,” she said.
The Avenir Publix is an 48,387-square-foot store with the usual grocery, dairy, frozen food, seafood, meat and produce departments. The store has a full-service bakery, deli, pharmacy, an upstairs seating section, and an adjacent Publix Liquors. The store will also feature expanded sections devoted to Hispanic foods and to cheeses, Willis said on a WPTV News broadcast.
“Customers will also find ramen bowl options and sushi at this location, expanding the store’s fresh, ready‑to‑enjoy offerings,” Willis said.
Look for a giant motorized Publix shopping cart traveling the immediate area surrounding the store on opening day.
Other Florida Publix openings
Here are some other new Publix stores coming to Florida in June.:
- A West Broward Shopping Center Publix at 3901 W. Broward Blvd. in Plantation on June 4. This 29,365- square-foot store will feature an adjacent liquor store.
- A Northchase Center Publix at 16642 SR 64 E. in Bradenton on June 11. This 55,701 square-foot store will have a pharmacy and adjacent liquor store.
- A Publix at Thompson Nursery, 8710 W. Lake Ruby Dr. in Winter Haven on June 18. This 50,325 square-foot store will have a pharmacy and adjacent liquor store.
