A new Publix with its ‘own pool’? See what rain did on Florida supermarket’s opening day
Shopping was most definitely not a pleasure on Thursday when a spanking new Publix flooded in the Jacksonville area.
The same day that the highly anticipated 39,000-square-foot supermarket opened, a brief rainstorm put a damper on the festivities, which included a ribbon-cutting, balloons, and employees greeting shoppers at the door.
One shopper’s video posted to social media shows cars attempting to exit the garage, which is swamped in a foot of standing water.
“Went to check out the new Publix and the brand new garage and parking lot are under water after five minutes of rain,” Aliera Peterson said.
“Absolutely insane,” she says off camera to her followers. “Not a great first day.”
Peterson follows up below the post saying she is native of the city who’s lived and worked there for years and has never seen flooding in this spot before.
“Perhaps not surprising, but disappointing when they had 20 years to get it right,” she wrote.
Some of the comments were, naturally, amusing:
“I could’ve definitely made use of my kayak.”
“Be careful plugging in your Tesla!”
“How many Publix [stores] have their own pools?”
“Time to move to higher ground? Like, Appalachia?”
Opening this two story location in the San Marco area reportedly began way back in 2002, the Jacksonville Daily Record reports, adding that the garage is below the supermarket.
A representative for the store did not immediately comment on Friday morning.
