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Publix opened in South End: What’s all the fuss about?

By Corey Inscoe
Joshua Komer jkomer@charlotteobserver.com

This is my confession: Before Saturday, I had never been inside a Publix grocery store.

I grew up in North Carolina (Cary, to be exact), and always went to Harris Teeter, Food Lion or Winn-Dixie (I had no idea Winn-Dixies were still around).

The closest I had been to a Publix was driving by one in Florida on the way to Disney World.

But folks seem to get excited every time a new one opens up in Charlotte.

Why? Well, like with any big life question, I went to Twitter to find out.

Some of the responses

So, sandwiches?

I figured I should see for myself. A new Publix opened in South End on Saturday, and I trekked over there to see what all the fuss is about.

Initial thoughts

I came into this experience skeptical. How can a grocery store really be that good? But I walked away largely impressed.

It’s a nice, big store, but it’s not overwhelming. Parking wasn’t a huge pain (I only yelled at one other car), and all the employees were syrupy-sweet and friendly.

There were also enough free samples to feed an entire family, but I suspect that was an opening-day perk.

Pros

The meat selection was impressive — huge slabs of beef that I wanted to toss on a grill immediately.

The bakery and prepared foods area was also enticing. The cake lady was super proud of her cakes, and with good reason. A free sample of Key lime pie is the way to my heart.

I did one price comparison. Sabra brand hummus is the only thing I buy on a regular basis that I know exactly how much it costs at Harris Teeter — $4.99. Publix had it for a dollar cheaper, so there’s that.

Con

The beer selection, while vast, didn’t include a single Charlotte brewery. You could walk to this Publix from The Unknown and Triple C — both of which can their beer — and Sycamore Brewing. It’s only a few miles from The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, which I feel like you can find in many grocery stores around the area.

There were plenty of other N.C. beers — Red Oak and Highland Brewing, to name a couple — but I expected more love for the Charlotte breweries.

For my money, the Cotswold Harris Teeter offers the best beer selection of any grocery store in Charlotte. It has a whole case full of Charlotte beers and a great selection of craft beers from around the country.

What about the sandwich?

jerk turkey sub

Final thoughts

If I lived closer to a Publix, I’d try shopping there more, especially if the prices follow the trend of the hummus.

But I live in southeast Charlotte, a good 7 miles from the nearest Publix. And, while I really enjoyed my experience, Publix didn’t seem markedly better than the nice Harris Teeters (Taj Ma-Teeters, if you will) or Whole Foods.

I’ve learned from this experience that folks have very strong opinions about grocery stores. Some people will start shopping at Publix now and never go back to Harris Teeter or Food Lion or Trader Joe’s. And that’s fine.

Me? Let’s talk again when Publix gets some Charlotte beer in stock.

Top photo: Joshua Komer/Charlotte Observer. Other photos: Corey Inscoe.

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Corey Inscoe covers sports for the Charlotte Observer’s community sections, but also really likes good music, good food and Charlotte beer. Follow him on Twitter @CoreyInscoe.

This story was originally published April 19, 2015 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Publix opened in South End: What’s all the fuss about?."

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