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Giant Publix shopping cart cruises through Florida
A massive Publix shopping cart was spotted cruising down through a Florida neighborhood to celebrate the grand opening of its newest location in Wesley Chapel. (Video: Lauren Hunter)
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The grocery store everyone has grown to love for the legendary Pub sub first began its roots in Central Florida.
On Sept. 6, 1930, the first Publix location opened in Winter Haven, Florida. The founder, George Jenkins, was just 22 years old at the time.
Jenkins was "determined to run a better store than anyone else," according to a Publix news release. "He focused on delivering the finest service, in the finest stores, with the finest employees."
Pictured is the first Publix. Also the first super-market in the United States to be completely air-conditioned and entered through electric-eye doors. (Florida Memory State Library and Archives of Florida)
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Known at the time as the Publix Food Store, the supermarket started as a small food store. It ultimately expanded into seven states, from the Florida Keys to Glen Allen, Virginia, with more than 1,200 stores and over 220,000 associates.
(Florida Memory State Library and Archives of Florida)
Black-and-white historic photos from the Florida Memory State Library and Archives of Florida show what the grocery store once looked like.
(Florida Memory State Library and Archives of Florida)
The art deco designs of Publix stores saw a change in the 1950s. It was the same decade the store introduced the popular slogan, " where shopping is a pleasure," along with Publix-branded items.
(Florida Memory State Library and Archives of Florida)
Publix officials said its store location at the Southgate Shopping Center in Lakeland was one of the most notable stores from the 1950s and is still a Publix today. The location was reportedly so "iconic" that it was featured in the movie, Edward Scissorhands.