Publix #356 Revisited - Lakeland, FL
(Post updated on September 1, 2024, now with additional information courtesy of the Albertsons Florida Blog ) Food World #715/Publix #356/Future Publix #2043 4730 S. Florida Ave, Lakeland, FL - Lake Miriam Square Originally opened on November 15, 1977 as Publix's discount grocery store called Food World, not to be confused with the unrelated Bruno's chain of the same name. This store was Publix's largest at 58,880 square feet upon opening and was also their first store to feature barcode scanning at the checkouts. In 1988, Publix retired the Food World name, and this location became Publix #356. A pharmacy was added during a late 2004/early 2005 remodel to the Kiwi Environment Package, and then received a deluxe remodel to the Sienna Enviroment Package in 2012 along with the addition of a cooking school (closed on August 31, 2023), followed by a Sienna Lite refresh in 2018. This store closed on July 6, 2024 and will be replaced by Publix #2043, a larger 62U (a variant of t