GTB Area Retail Blog

Welcome to another edition of Publix stores by GTB Retail! This time, we will be looking at the store on Bayshore Blvd and Platt Street. This is also the final post of 2019. This is the last traffic light before you cross the Hillsborough River. This light is for Ashley Drive. Let's make a left turn in order to go to Downtown Tampa's first Publix! Publix #628 243 Bayshore Blvd, Tampa, FL Opened on September 17, 1998 as one of the first smaller format Publix stores in the area. This store model is the 27M, being a predecessor to the current 28M model. Publix #628 is 28,357 square feet and used to have a pharmacy until the mid-2000s. Welcome to the Publix near Downtown Tampa! The other Publix in the Channel Club Apartments did not open until August 29, 2019, so residents living at or near those apartments and wanting to find a Publix would have to drive here. This is also the primary Publix for Gasparilla, which happens in January and Fe...

Walmart #3418 28500 State Road 54, Wesley Chapel, FL Opened on August 13, 2014 as Walmart #3418. Construction was supposed to start in 2008, but it was delayed by 6 years due to the Great Recession. This entrance is unmarked, but it would be the Home & Pharmacy side of the Walmart Supercenter. I have never seen a 2010's built Walmart in person, so let's enter through these doors! What you see after entering through the left side doors. There are 24 checkouts, and 8 or 12 self lanes. Also, a Christmas tree! Did you know that this fire alarm speaker doubles as a regular announcement and music speaker? If someone pages an announcement, then this would sound a short tone for 1 second. If someone activates the fire alarm pull station, or if one of the smoke detectors detect fire, or the drill button on the control panel is pushed, then this would sound three beeps in a pattern (3 beeps, pause, repeats) with the fire light flashing, along wi...

Kash n' Karry #1916/Sweetbay #1916/Winn-Dixie #2503 27301 State Road 54, Wesley Chapel, FL - Towne Centre at Wesley Chapel Opened in 2000 as Kash n' Karry #1916, and converted to Sweetbay Supermarket in 2005. Reopened on April 8, 2014 as Winn-Dixie #2503. This is one of Kash n' Karry's round front prototype stores. The inside featured 35-foot tall ceilings and a circular layout not seen in any other Kash n' Karry store. If you look closely at the red paint, you can see a Kash n' Karry labelscar, which includes a part of the logo and the words FOOD - DELI - PHARMACY. Let's enter the store and see what a round Kash n' Karry/Sweetbay/Winn-Dixie really is! Welcome to your Wesley Chapel Winn-Dixie! This is one of two welcome signs in the store, the other one is similar except with imagery. Like I said earlier, the deli, bakery, and cheese departments are all formed in the shape of a circle, making for a rather odd la...