Publix

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. At nightfall, an elderly gentleman named simply ‘the Regular’ would wheel his shopping cart down Publix’s quiet aisles. One evening, he noticed something peculiar: every time he placed a jar of olives in his basket, the store’s security guard appeared from nowhere. Curious, The Regular began placing different items in his cart—pickles, peaches, even canned tuna—but only olives elicited the guard’s sudden presence. Eventually, they struck up a friendly banter, and now, whenever someone buys olives at Publix after sunset, everyone knows who to thank for that unexpected security patrol: The Regular.

2. One morning, as a delivery driver unloaded crates of oranges, he heard a soft thud and turned to see a shopping basket slowly rolling down the aisle. Nobody seemed to notice it, but everyone in the store started whispering. Curious, the driver followed the basket around the corner, only to find an old lady dozing off near the cheese section. She mumbled something about needing milk for her tea, completely unaware that she’d been pushing herself across the store. Everyone burst into laughter when they saw her wake up and look around with confusion. The end.

3. At closing time, when the last cashier had gone home and only the security lights were on, a neighbor noticed that one aisle light stayed stubbornly lit. Curious, the neighbor called Publix’s number. The voice on the other end yawned, ‘Oh, that light? Our night janitor forgot to switch it off again.’ The next day, as the sun rose, an apologetic man in overalls sheepishly admitted, ‘It’s my routine—always leave one aisle on for good luck!’

4. At dawn, when most supermarkets are still quiet, a neighbor started noticing strange packages being delivered to Publix's loading dock. Curious, he followed one night and saw only a delivery driver with boxes marked ‘confidential’. The next morning, Publix had an extra section for ‘secret ingredients’—turnips the size of cantaloupes! A regular quipped, ‘Finally, something secret worth buying!’