Granada Shopping Center's Publix to close, rebuild

The grocery will soon shut its doors for several months while it builds a new, larger store.

By LEON M. TUCKER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 4, 2003

DUNEDIN -- Publix shoppers, take note.

The popular supermarket at 1491 Main St. will soon close for renovations and expansion.

But when it reopens, the Granada Shopping Center Publix will have grown to a 45,000-square-foot store.

The present 38,000-square-foot store at the Granada Shopping Center has catered to area residents and passers-by since it opened in February 1985.

"We do have plans to totally close that store down, and we will rebuild on the same site," said Lee Brunson, spokesman for Publix supermarkets in Lakeland. "We don't have an official start date yet, but we're going to keep that store open as long as we can."

The store offers groceries, a produce section, bakery, deli and pharmacy as well as a Bank of America satellite office at the front of the store. The bank also is expected to return when the expansion is complete.

"We think our customers will be excited about the new store we will be bringing to that location," said Brunson. "But it will probably take us about seven to nine months before it is finished."

Brunson said signs inside the store will tell shoppers when the store will close and reopen and will direct them to Publix markets nearby.

Though news of the renovation was a surprise for some shoppers, they seem to like the idea of having more room to expand the store's selection of produce, meats and other household items.

"It's a good surprise, but I've been waiting for this," said Ida Conover, a Dunedin resident who has been shopping at the Main Street store since it opened. "I like Publix and everything about it, but I think they could expand their fish department."

Conover said that when the store closes, she will likely do her grocery shopping at some of the other stores in the area.

"I live close to a Kash n' Karry, but I prefer this store," she said. "I'll just be happy when they reopen."

During the renovations, employees will be reassigned to other Publix stores until the work is completed.

Dunedin has another Publix supermarket on the north side of town at the Caladesi Shopping Center at 902 Curlew Road.

Like Main Street, the Curlew Road store has a bakery and a deli, but it does not have a pharmacy or bank inside.

A developer's plan for a third Publix in Dunedin was rejected by city commissioners last year after residents living near the proposed site -- on the corner of Patricia Avenue and Union Street -- complained about the possibility of increased noise and traffic.

"I'll probably go to the one on Curlew (Road) and Alt. (U.S.) 19," said Barbara Hollands, a Palm Harbor resident who works as a nurse in Dunedin and visits the Main Street Publix twice a week.

"It won't be as convenient, but I like the quality of Publix, and their prices are competitive.

"I just hope they make it quick," she added.

-- Leon M. Tucker can be reached at (727) 445-4167 or tucker@sptimes.com .

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