The 10 Best Things To Buy at Publix, According to a Superfan
My earliest memories of Publix are from the vantage point of a shopping cart. Like most Florida kids, I grew up going to Publix with my mom and rode in the top part of the cart until my legs no longer fit in the holes. While grocery shopping bored me, and my mom never bought me the “fun” cereal, there was one saving grace at Publix: the free cookies. Found in the bakery section atop the pastry case, a friendly bakery worker would always happily hand kids their choice of a chocolate chip or sprinkles cookie. (I always went for chocolate chip.)My mom would cruise down the aisles and I’d delight in my freebie treat, shivering as we entered the refrigerated sections. Chewy, sweet and loaded with chocolate chips, the cookie made my experience so much better.Now I’m an adult living in Atlanta, and I'm the one pushing the cart through Publix with my six-year-old daughter, who also enjoys a free cookie—only she opts for the sprinkles option. Like me, she started her Publix experience riding in the cart, but now she bravely strolls up to the bakery counter to ask for her own cookie. Watching her light up when they hand it to her takes me right back.As a grown-up, my appreciation for the grocery chain goes beyond free cookies. The bright, spacious stores are beloved for their friendly customer service, BOGO deals, fresh produce and so much more. Whether this is your first time at Publix or you're a loyalist like me, here’s what you need to know about the fan-favorite grocery store, plus the 10 best things to buy at Publix (make sure they're on your shopping list).Related:The First-Timer's Guide to Buc-ee's: These Are the 15 Things You Can't Leave Without😋😋 SIGN UP to get delicious recipes, handy kitchen hacks & more in our daily Pop Kitchen newsletter. 🍳🍔
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What Is Publix?Publix is the brainchild of George W. Jenkins, who opened the first location, called Publix Food Store, in Winter Haven, Florida in 1930. The name was “borrowed” from a local chain of theaters that Jenkins liked. Eventually, he closed his original locations but opened other, larger stores dubbed Publix Super Market after acquiring the Lakeland Grocery Company. The stores morphed from simple food shops to one-stop stores with pharmacies, bakeries and delis. Today, you’ll find that some Publix locations even have coffee shops, Chinese takeout and wine bars. It remains a privately-owned company with ownership shared between employees and the Jenkins family.Related: I’ve Been a Loyal Kroger Shopper for Years—These Are My Top Tips and Tricks @snackeatingsnacks This Publix has burritos, pizza, ramen, açaí bowls and a BAR! Full video recap including my review of the food is on my YT! #publix #publixfinds #floridalife #southflorida ♬ original sound - SnackEatingSnacks Where Can I Find a Publix Near Me? The grocery store company began in Florida, which still boasts the most locations, with 882 spread throughout the state. There are 1,413 locations total with the brand’s expansion into Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.Related: HomeGoods Is the Best Place for Kitchen Finds—Here Are 15 Reasons WhyThe 10 Best Things To Buy at Publix1. Publix cake
Courtesy Lia Picard
While the bakery sells many goods, including eclairs, pastelitos and muffins, Publix cake is something special. Available in chocolate, vanilla and funfetti varieties, the birthday cake has its own fanbase (it’s me). The cakes are made off-site and shipped to the stores unfrosted, where they're decorated by the bakery staff. The buttercream is simply the best—not too sweet, fluffy and creamy. The cake decorators go through a training program to perfect their frosting skills and it shows with expertly draped swags, buttercream flowers and neat frosting penmanship.While you can customize a cake, they also offer a menu of decorated options and some of them are truly impressive, like the birthday sprinkle explosion, which reveals a sprinkle surprise when you cut it open and the blue stardust, which looks like a van Gogh painting.Fun fact: one-year-olds get a free smash cake if the parent orders a cake that says “Happy first birthday to (fill in the name)”. You can also buy slices of cake if you just need a little treat.Related: The Genius Birthday Cake Trick We Wish We’d Known About Sooner2. Pub subs @checkoutvick Replying to @Austin Publix Sub (Buffalo & Chipotle Tender) #sandwich #sandwiches #publix #foodreview #subs #foodie ♬ A Bar Song (Tipsy) - Shaboozey Another fan favorite, Publix subs (AKA Pub subs) hit the spot when you need an easy, on-the-go lunch. They’re completely customizable (choose between Publix brand deli meats or Boar’s Head), but Publix also offers some great pre-set combos, like the sweet & spicy tender sub that includes chicken tenders topped with sweet sriracha sauce and three- pepper Colby Jack cheese. If you really want to do a deep dive, there's plenty of Pub sub chatter online, including Reddit threads where people suggest tossing your tenders in different sauces, like Korean barbecue or spicy gold barbecue.Keep an eye out for local specials too, like the Atlanta United Spicy Sub, which layers sliced chicken breast, Colby Jack, bacon, red pepper jelly, whipped cream cheese, salt and vinegar chips and garlic pickles. (Whew!)Pro tip: The Pub sub station is notoriously slow-moving, so you might want to order it online ahead of time or order first and then do your shopping so it’s ready when you are.3. Beautifully arranged bouquets
Courtesy Lia Picard
Trader Joe’s often gets all the grocery store flower love, but Publix’s floral section is worth checking out too. The bouquets are vibrant and reasonably priced, and you can order ahead for special occasions. My favorite is the happily named “floral bouquet salsa,” with gerbera daisies, orange roses, yellow chrysanthemum and purple statice.There are also tons of potted plants, like purple and white orchids, making it easy to grab a gift on the go. The floral department is where you’ll also find balloons (my kid loves a basic helium balloon on a string that she can play "keepy uppy" with later).4. Pre-cut produce @sashcleanupnice_ I get alot of people tell me their biggest struggle is eating clean , publix changed the game with this one . They made it super simple for you to meal prep with these already cut veggies #Nutritious #mealprep #easymeals #mealplanning #mealprepideas #mealprepmadeeasy #publix #publixforthewin #steamablesmakelifeeasier #steamable #readytocook #readytocookmeals #eatingclean #nutritiousmeals #dinnertok #foodtok #foodie #foodhacks #cooking #blackgirlscook #fitness #fitnesstips #atlfoodie #imnotadietitian #personaltrainer ♬ original sound - Fit4omni The Publix produce section is always a bright, happy place that’s super organized, which makes it a pleasure to stroll through. In addition to your standard produce offerings, you’ll also find a wide range of pre-cut produce, like spaghetti squash, cauliflower, stir fry vegetables, summer squash and things like a fruit bowl with dragonfruit, which is great for a grab-and-go snack. Need something even quicker? Pick up one of their steam-in-bag vegetable mixes. All of these are such time-savers for the busy cook. The produce section also has a great array of salad bags by Fresh Express and Publix’s own brand—many times you’ll find them on sale. Seasonal fruit is always prominently on display and frequently on sale (I recently got a three for $10 deal on strawberries.)Related: The Smart Butcher Counter Trick We Wish We'd Known About Sooner5. BOGO deals @elizabethsaunders72 Shopping the BOGO's deals at Publix 💯% ♬ เสียงต้นฉบับ - GrowHome_Old Songs - GrowHome_Old Songs Every week, Publix releases a new slate of BOGO (buy one, get one) deals. You can find them on the website or the Publix app so you can plan ahead. If you only want one of the items, not the second “free” one, they’ll give it to you for half price (except in Florida, where you have to buy both items to get the deal). This is one of the things that may make Publix shopping a little dangerous, if you’re like me and are prone to straying off your list when a good deal presents itself. I didn’t need sliced mushrooms on a recent visit, but I love mushrooms and can add them to so many dishes so I went ahead and grabbed two packages.I will say that the BOGO deals are especially great for household items, like toothpaste and Windex, because they don’t go bad.6. Pre-made deli items
Courtesy Lia Picard
Besides freshly sliced meat and cheese by the pound (they always let you sample a slice, which is a great shopping snack), the grab-and-go cases in the deli section are packed with pre-made items, like chicken salad, gouda macaroni and cheese and a variety of dips. I'm a fan of the Cransational chicken salad, which has dried cranberries, golden raisins and scallions and I love grabbing the spinach and artichoke dip when I need a quick party appetizer. You could put together a whole party spread (or a lazy Tuesday night meal) from what's in the grab-and-go cases.7. Publix branded products
Publix
One way to save some money at Publix is to choose Publix-branded products, which include its organic line, GreenWise, which includes everything from cereal to cleaning products. For my cereal-munching daughter, I like to grab a box of Toasted Oats (i.e. off-brand Cheerios). I also often opt for Publix brand half and half and spaghetti instead of the bigger name brands. And I’m a sucker for Publix ice cream, which comes in great flavor combinations like Cool Lime Sherbet and Brownie Moose Tracks, which is a combo of vanilla ice cream, brownie pieces and fudge. Very rarely will you notice a difference between a Publix-branded item and the name brand, whether that’s milk, cereal or ice cream—but your wallet will.Related: People Love Aldi Chocolate Bars—We Ranked Our Top 108. Fried chicken @jehancancook And 8 pieces for $10.99 🙌🏾 #publix #publixfriedchicken #friedchicken #crispychicken #crispyperfection ♬ original sound - jehancancook The aroma of fried chicken catches you in the parking lot, making it nearly irresistible to resist if you're shopping on an empty stomach. It’s not entirely clear exactly what makes Publix chicken so good. My guess is part of the magic is the spice blend they use in the breading, but that's a well-guarded secret. The combination of the tender, juicy meat and just thick enough, well-seasoned breading are super delicious. You can buy an eight-piece box, but they also sell chicken tenders and popcorn chicken, which is my personal fave for a kid’s birthday party. They also sell a great rotisserie chicken, if you're not in the mood for something fried.Related: I Tried 6 Grocery Store Rotisserie Chickens and the Winner Totally Shocked Me9. Sushi (especially on Wednesdays) @jaleenacozzo Sweet niblets that took me by surprise #publixsushi #tasetest #hungrygal #publix #shopwithme #thegoodlife #imlovinit ♬ original sound - Jaleena Grocery store sushi might not have the best reputation, but Publix is an exception to the rule. The sushi rolls are made throughout the day, and the fresh fish with sweet and tangy sushi rice is a great option when you're in the mood for sushi but don't want to go to a restaurant. I'm a fan of Publix's spicy tuna roll, which has fish, cucumber and a spicy mayo drizzle. The crunchy roll, which is a California roll coated in imitation crab salad and crispy sweet onions, is also great. You can put together a whole sushi meal with miso soup packets, seaweed salad and potstickers all sold at the sushi station too.And sushi fans should definitely stop by on Wednesdays, when select rolls (always California and others that rotate) are on sale for just $5.Related: Everything You Need to Know About Imitation Crab10. The free cookie
Courtesy Lia Picard
I know I mentioned it earlier and you're not technically buying anything, but it bears repeating: Kids get free cookies in the bakery! It makes the grocery shopping experience that much sweeter for the whole family.Bonus: Help to your carThis isn’t an item to add to your shopping list, but it’s helpful to know. When your bagger is done loading up your cart, they’ll almost always ask if you need help to your car (or you can ask them). Don’t be shy! Say yes if you need it, especially if you have a child or a lot of items. And don’t worry about tipping, there are signs in the store that make it clear that tipping isn’t allowed. It’s just one of those things that makes Publix a cut above the rest.Up Next: Related: People Love Kroger’s Private Selection Brand—Here Are 17 Reasons Why
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