Publix Opened Its Very First Grocery Store In This Southern State

Publix, the retail grocery chain with more than 1,300 stores across the Southeastern U.S., is the largest employee-owned company in the country. And though founder George W. Jenkins grew up in Harris, Georgia, that's not where he opened his first store. Publix actually got its start in South Florida.

At 17 years old, Jenkins wanted to see if he could find financial success in Florida during its real estate boom. That didn't work out for him, and he found work as a stocking clerk for a Piggly Wiggly grocery in Tampa. Eventually, he was promoted to manager and was soon transferred to the chain's largest store in Winter Haven.

Despite the Great Depression having set in, Jenkins took a risk and resigned from Piggly Wiggly. Just a few weeks shy of his 23^rd birthday, on September 6, 1930, Jenkins opened Publix Food Store in Winter Haven. Five years later, he opened a second store across town.

Launching a business following the 1929 stock market crash that led to the Great Depression may have seemed a fool's errand. But Floridians were already dealing with economic hardship. In 1926, with the public's trust in "paper" millionaires waning, the real estate boom went bust. Two major hurricanes hit Florida in 1926 and 1928, the economic impact of which "has never been exceeded," Coastal Breeze News reported. A fruit-fly infestation in 1929 damaged citrus groves, one of the state's main cash crops, causing further devastation.

But even while other stores' shelves were lacking, Mr. George, as his employees came to call him, traveled the country finding products to send back to Florida and collecting ideas to improve the business. Ten years after opening his first store, Jenkins introduced Publix Super Market — a "food palace" constructed with marble, glass, and stucco — setting a new standard for cleanliness and esthetics. It boasted eight-foot-wide aisles and modern amenities like air conditioning, automatic doors, and frozen food cases.

The name, after all, was not political but was a nod to luxury. Publix got its name from a chain of opulent movie theaters. According to Florida's State Library and Archives, Jenkins said, "The name 'Publix' was borrowed from a chain of theaters which was operating throughout Florida at the time. Most of them were closing up, and I liked the sound of the name, so I just took it for my store."

Jenkins believed in investing in his employees, giving back to the community, and providing superior customer service. Making employees partial owners in the business made them stakeholders in its success. The company has received numerous accolades over the years, including Fortune magazine's list of the top 100 places to work every year since 1998.

Publix stores are engaged in their communities through the Publix Serves program, during which associates volunteer for environmental projects and fight hunger. It started as a single service day in 2015 and has grown to two week-long events in the spring and fall. Nearly 7,500 Publix workers volunteered with more than 200 organizations in spring 2024.

Jenkins also sought ways to make the shopping experience more pleasant. Publix has been recognized for superior customer service, gaining the top score for supermarkets on Newsweek's Best Customer Service for six years running. The stores offer many services you might not know about, such as providing the ability to register your car there.