Albany #8 - Albany, GA
Albany #8
Sing Food Store
Albany, GA 31707
Scroll Down for my More Than Convenience post on Publix #450
Revised: November 14, 2022 | Original Publication: November 12, 2022
Welcome back to The Sing Oil Blog, and welcome back to Southwest Georgia! Today will be a first for the blog, as we'll be exploring a Sing Store entirely through the eyes and camera lens of my Sing Oil Sidekick! That's right, folks, I've never been to this former Sing, but rest assured that my friend got some good coverage for us to explore today.
You may be asking yourselves, "Where did this Sing Oil Sidekick come from?" and the answer is, you've probably read some of his stuff without even realizing it! We became friends before the blog was even an idea in my head, and he has since helped me by proofreading many posts, adding select puns, and even inspiring various photos (including my Fun Featured Product series). We may live in different states, but we've met up on a few occasions and happened to find ourselves "going Publixing" (or maybe it's more like me dragging somebody else along to stand watch while I'm taking pictures for the blog). The Sing Oil Sidekick was also the inspiration behind our Publix music playlist which I have noted several times before, and enjoys noting the distinctive, if not sometimes repetitive, music selections played in stores. If you're looking for an assortment of soft-rock and pop-hits ranging from the 1970's to today, Publix (and the Sing Sidekick) can hook you up! Regardless, he may have inspired the trip which led to my last post on the Bogalusa Sing, but I made sure he photographed Albany #8 when he took a trip down to Albany earlier this year!
He is one of at least three people who have knowingly joined me on one of my many adventures to document retail history, but there are still other acquaintances who have no idea I captured content for a retail blog while we were wandering around the aisles of a supermarket! I recently returned from an exhausting but very productive trip with a different friend who has also joined me on a few other tours, but that is a story for another month. Let's see what the Sing Oil Sidekick found at this store!
Sing Oil Sidekick here! Any italicized comments in the post below (except photo captions) are mine. I hope you have as much fun reading about Albany #8 as I did photographing it.
Some History
Built in 1978, Albany #8 looks to be another of Sing's 1970's-sytle offset square stores reminiscent of Sandy Plains or LaGrange #4. This store likely would have resembled Sandy Plains more so than LaGrange #4 since it opened only a few months after the former. Interestingly, Sing also decided to construct Albany #7 using the same prototype in the same year as this store. Who knows what their reasoning was, but I'll save that tour for a different day.
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| Courtesy The Albany Herald (Google News) - September 17, 1993 - Amoco Grand Opening |
Finding The Albany Herald on Google News was both a blessing and a curse; I was ecstatic to find a new information source for Sing research until I realized said research requires a mind-numbing amount of time based on the terrible search algorithm Google's newspaper archive uses (I have a janky workaround using My Heritage that works okay, but Newspapers.com is far superior). That being said, I occasionally come across gems like the one I found above by total happenstance. It turns out that Amoco decided to hold its grand opening for the newly-rebranded Albany #8 Sing Store three-days before the county's first (and only) Publix would open its doors. This coincidence helped me find the ad above, and further reiterates how the Sing brand was largely retired from every region except the coveted Tallahassee market by 1993 – only three short years after the merger.
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| Courtesy Charles Burgess Jr (Flickr) - Former Harveys #2322 - June 14, 2013 |
This location also happens to be across the street from one of Albany's former Kmarts, which oddly enough had a Harveys Supermarket as a neighbor until SEG decided to consolidate its northern Albany operations into an old Winn-Dixie store just down the street. Thanks to a comment from AFB below, I learned that the former Harveys was likely a Kmart Food Store (Another update: the space first opened as a Big Star in 1975) when it was first built. Mike from Houston Historic Retail linked to this article in one of his recent posts which has a few photos of a former store in Houston.
Food Lion has since taken over the Harv-Dixie and thankfully remodeled it away from Yellow Down Down; however, if you are a fan of temporary blindness, I have a remedy for you. Food Lion's Google photographer, Steve Petty, managed to take tons of pictures inside the store shortly after its acquisition. Now let's move onto my photographs of Albany #8!
The Store
This Sing may still have both of its original doors in place (each under the "Food Mart" signage), but only the one on the right is currently operational. The cashier counter would have originally been located between the two, behind the gas payment window where the "open" sign is on display today.
Stepping inside, we are greeted by Sing's original rust-colored floor tile. This tile is a bit more muted than the orange deli tile Sing used during the 1980's, but it is still just as recognizable. Also featured prominently next to the door is one of this store's two (or more) Georgia Lottery kiosks. "Today could be the day!"
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| This store's selection of Pickles in a Pouch puts LaGrange #2 to shame! |
Jumping to the back of the store, we see that the aisles have been rearranged from their original diagonal configuration, and the register has been moved from its original home under the Western Union banners. If you zoom into the photo below the Western Union banner, you can see the display rack of white shirts that is used to prevent accessing the store through the second door.
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| Didn't LaGrange #4 have a lot of pork rinds too? |
Said register can now be found along the left wall of the store. I'm not entirely sure what Sing used this section of the store for, but it probably did not involve such a unique (and colorful!) selection of baseball hats to peruse.
We'll take a quick glance at the register from the snack aisle . . .
and another look along the back wall of the store. This store appears to have more coolers than LaGrange #4 did, but the placement and lower ceiling overhang are certainly traits left over from Sing. Although it is hard to see this store's beer selection from my photo, if you find yourself in Albany craving a cold beer, I highly recommend making the short 10 minute drive from this store to Pretoria Fields Brewing. My visit there resulted in some very interesting conversations with local Albanians (not to be confused with people from Albania), along with some tasty refreshments.
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| The Las Vegas of The South |
Over on the other side of the snack aisle, we see the wall allotted to this store's "gambling machines" and its second lotto kiosk. All of this open space is a stark contrast from LaGrange #4! Furthermore, there is a good chance that some of those booths date back to Sing Oil Company, but I'm not entirely sure why the modern gas station would need them since they don't appear to sell food. I guess they just sell a lot 'o lottery tickets based on all of the forms sitting on the tables! Nevertheless, the overflowing trash can in the middle of the aisle seems to indicate that today could be was not the day for many patrons. "Play on, Albany!"
Stepping back a bit, we'll get one last look at the casino space in the front of the store.
We'll follow that up with a look at the Coke fountain and coffee station along the right wall.
Those red-and-grey Formica cabinets also appear to be from Sing, if I say so myself!
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| Well this store planned for some nutty Coke! Or maybe nutty Kickin' Ice! Or you can just drink some acetone and sniff some Air Wick; no judgement here! |
Although, they seem a bit random and lonely sitting against this wall. I wouldn't be surprised if Sing previously had more of these lining this wall and the wall to our right, but the modern tenant must not have seen a need for such. Based on the piece of wood to the left of the trash can, I wouldn't be surprised if this section of cabinets was actually moved from the right wall, as a corner piece would have likely been attached to the side facing the Coke cooler.
Back out front, we see this store's modern Liberty-branded Wayne gas pumps. Both the pumps and the canopy appear to be more modern additions to the station.
We can also see the trash can / window washing structure (which is missing the paper towel dispenser) left from Chevron's 1990's / 2000's standard issue package, along with some pump numbers which hail from Chevron's post-2006 branding refresh.
Our trip to a former Sing wouldn't be complete without a look at the vacuum station lights! But first, I want to point out the old Chevron sign post and gas price signage which remains in addition to the Liberty sign up top.
It isn't often that I come across a former Sing which still has its old Mercury vapor parking lots intact, much less one with the old vacuum station pair in place too. What a treat!
Many thanks to the Sing Oil Blogger for allowing me to tag along on a few adventures, and for letting me drag him to Mississippi (even though he in turn drug me to Louisiana)! I hope you found this short photo tour of Albany #8 informative and entertaining. Until next time, the Sing Oil Sidekick is signing (Singing?) off!
Don't forget to keep scrolling for my coverage of Albany's one-and-only Publix! (#1349 isn't in Dougherty County)
Street Views
Aerial Views
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| Historic Aerials - 1972 Future site of Albany #8 Sing Store |
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| Historic Aerials - 1983 Albany #8 Sing Store |
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| Google Earth - December 2019 Former Albany #8 Sing Store |
Publix's 56D Prototype: The Early 1990's
Publix #450
Albany Square
Albany, GA 31707
For this week's More Than Convenience feature, we're going to head just up the road to Albany Square Shopping Center to explore one of Publix's 56D prototypes. I ended up writing the bulk of this portion of the post back in the summer while I was still at my old job, but decided today would be a good time to dust it off and share it with the Sing Store that I never visited (but totally could have since it is really close to this Publix). Anyway, let's see what I found on my Albany adventure (and y'all better not pronounce it AAL-baa-nee {like New York}, the locals say either AWL-buh-nee or awl-BEN-nee {like "Benny"}).
Publix #450 at Albany Square opened on September 20, 1993, as the seventh location in the state (after #412 (Savannah Mall, Savannah), #33 (Sandy Plains, Marietta), #89 (Tree Trail Village, Norcross), #122 (Macland Pointe Shopping Center, Marietta), #431 (Village at Glynn Place, Brunswick), & #430 (Baytree Village, Valdosta), respectively). Interestingly, it also seems to be the first Georgia store to open in 1993, with #412 opening in November 1991, and the other six locations opening in November or December of 1992. I find it curious how all the prior stores opened in Q4, with #450 being the first exception to this (albeit, not by much). Furthermore, it looks like this store was originally scheduled to open in May 1993, but construction delays pushed that date out by a few months.
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| Courtesy The Albany Herald (Google News) - January 17, 1993 - Publix may open in May |
Similar to several of the Atlanta locations, the Albany Publix drew scrutiny from local labor unions over its alleged practice of bringing managers from Florida and not hiring a diverse workforce. Publix defended these claims by stating that "the Florida-based chain's 'culture' did not exist in Georgia so the grocer was forced to bring in its own management team." They further reiterated that "If they [customer service and value] already existed, then there wouldn't be any need to come into Georgia."
Wow. Burn.
The labor unions' argument must not have held up with the locals since this, along with 197 other stores in the state, remain open nearly 30-years later!
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| Courtesy The Albany Herald (Google News) - March 1, 1984 - Ad for Albany's first Wal-Mart Grand Opening on 3/6/1984. This store was replaced by one next to Publix #450. |
Publix's construction also brought about some other changes to northern Albany, as Wal-Mart decided to move its 9-year-old store just down the street to the shiny new Albany Square. I bring this up because I was initially confused as to why this Publix's façade looked so much like a 1990's Wal-Mart, but Henry H. came to the rescue with the information concerning this bit if history. It turns out that Wal-Mart actually built the anchor space next door which is currently occupied by Hobby Lobby, Party City, and PetSmart. Wal-Mart #588 wouldn't last much longer here than they did in their original store, since they decided to move a third and final time to their current home at 2825 Ledo Road; Albany's first Supercenter opened its doors on March 1, 2004, which happens to be just under 20-years to the day from the original store's grand opening.
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| Courtesy The Albany Herald (Google News) - September 19, 1993 - Publix Grand Opening Ad |
Not only did Publix cause Wal-Mart to move, leaving its former junior anchor, Winn-Dixie, in the dust, but it also caused grocery prices in the Albany market to move too. Google News may be a pain in the rear to navigate, but it also helped me notice a surprising trend from the local competition:
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| Courtesy The Albany Herald (Google News) - September 19, 1993 - Winn-Dixie Sales Ad |
I'm not sure if it was primarily due to me looking at a Sunday paper, but four of Albany's existing grocers also decided to take out ads in The Herald the day before the new Publix was slated to open. First up is Winn-Dixie, who highlights how their "Everyday Low Prices" are lower than the existing competition of Food Lion, Piggly Wiggly, and Harveys. At the time, The Beef People operated three stores in Albany, including a recently expanded Marketplace on Old Dawson Road.
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| Courtesy The Albany Herald (Google News) - September 19, 1993 - Family Mart Sales Ad |
That was followed by Family Mart's Sav-A-Center (A&P) on Dawson Road, who decided to double any manufacturer's coupons due to the arrival of a newcomer in Albany's grocery sphere. This is reminiscent of what happened a year earlier when Publix entered the Atlanta market (article page 2).
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| Courtesy The Albany Herald (Google News) - September 19, 1993 - Harveys Sales Ad |
Next up, South Georgia's own Harveys, who had multiple locations throughout the city, decided to double coupons in attempt to fend off the new competition.
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| Courtesy The Albany Herald (Google News) - September 19, 1993 - Bruno's Sales Ad |
Bruno's took their sale to the next level by tripling manufacturer's coupons at their Meredyth Drive store during Publix's first week of operation – well, sort of. The fine print reads that they will only triple coupons valued between 1¢ - 34¢, while doubling 35¢ - 50¢ coupons, and redeeming 51¢+ coupons at face value.
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| Courtesy The Albany Herald (Google News) - September 20, 1993 - Piggly Wiggly Sales Ad |
The Pig may have squealed a bit later (its ad ran during Publix's first day of operation rather than the day before), but it offered shoppers the same deal Bruno's did. This is likely because Bruno's operated a number of Piggly Wiggly stores throughout the Southeast at the time, including the Albany location on North Slappey Boulevard.
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| Courtesy The Albany Herald (Google News) - September 22, 1993 - Food Lion Sales Ad |
Finally, Food Lion roared two-days later stating how they were "Home of Extra Low Prices" (with no mention of any specials they were offering due to Publix's opening). A week early they ran an ad mentioning how they had "spruced up" their stores and changed their uniforms, but still had no mention of any direct campaign against the looming foe.
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| Courtesy Charles Burgess Jr (Flickr) - Former Harveys #2342 - June 14, 2013 |
And we can't forget about Kroger, who bowed out of the Albany market on November 22, 1986, after an unresolved dispute with their own labor union. At this time, Kroger also closed a Family Center on Slappey Boulevard which had opened in 1971 in addition to the Greenhouse store we see here.
They may not have survived to fight The Big Green Monster, but one of their ghosts can still be seen in 2022 on Sylvester Road east of town. Harveys itself was closed by Southeastern Grocers back in 2017 as part of a larger closure round. We unfortunately lost another store with Yellow Down Down.
This specific Kroger was built in the "Double Greenhouse" style and would've featured a SupeRx drugstore in the suite to the left of the supermarket when it opened in 1982.
The fact of the matter is, only two of Publix's the six above competitors from 1993 remain in the Albany market (and they aren't the ones I would have predicted two years ago). Two of the chains, Bruno's and Family Mart, don't remain anywhere! That's right, Food Lion made its return in 2020 after a complicated relationship with South Georgia which was deeply intertwined with Harveys, while a Piggly Wiggly opened last year in a former Harveys. I never thought I'd see the day when Albany didn't have a single Harveys store, but somehow that feat has been accomplished.
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| Courtesy The Albany Herald (Google News) - November 4, 1993 - Publix heats up local store wars |
In the months following Publix's grand opening, the initial controversies may have subsided, but the new store left a lasting impact on the Albany area. The Herald noted how two-months later, grocery prices were substantially lower in the area which was a direct result of the new Publix – quite contrary to Publix's perceived impact today! I will say that the competition was simply baffled by the newfound "grocery war"; "'There's really not a whole lot I can say,' says Catherine Byrd, spokeswomen for Bruno's Finer Foods. 'I can say we work at being the best we can be.'"
That sounds to me like a retailer who was thrown back on their heels, which is never a good strategy for business. I encourage you to check out page 2 of the article above to read more of the community's reaction to the new Publix, but for now, we're going to move onto the store itself.
Now that we've explored this store's origins, let's dive into the space itself with some historical glimpses of the interior. Our first look will be a photo that a commentator below tipped me off to.
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| Courtesy Elliott Minor (Shutterstock) - May 27, 2002 - Johnnie Kent in Publix #450 |
Somehow, someway, GeorgiaPubDude was able to find a photo from this store's Wavy Pastels days in the vast Ether we know as the Internet. The particular shot is depicts Johnnie Kent, the produce manager, looking "over some Vidalia onions grown by Antioch Farms in Claxton, Ga." Apparently the crop was predicted to be short when this photo was taken due to "weather extremes and a fungal disease".
The picture may not show much from the Wavy Pastels décor package, but we at least get to see the front and back of the chalkboard "specials" signs (the back bearing the "Where shopping is a pleasure" graphic we see above the onions). We also see the teal awnings and the coral cart bumper on the cooler off in the distance.
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| Courtesy Melodee (Flickr) - September 3, 2006 - Publix #450 checkout line |
Since it opened in the early 1990's, store #450 would've featured Wavy Pastels all the way up to the mid-2000's, when the store would have received its first remodel. GeorgiaPubDude again saved the day because he also linked to a photo album on Flickr with a few pictures from inside this store. The particular image above from 2006 doesn't provide many clues, but it appears that the back wall had been painted yellow and the aisle sign backing had been painted off-white to indicate a Classy Market 1.0 remodel had occurred.
I couldn't find any additional pictures of this store while it had anything before CM 2.0, but I did find a couple showing CM 2.0 décor with Wavy Pastels retrofit (or Mock CM 1.0) aisle signs. I'll dig into the odd details of this topic in a future post, but just remember that I noted it here.
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| Courtesy Aaron B. (Foursquare) - Publix #450 - January 15, 2011 |
I have often seen CM 2.0 & CM 2.5 act as a catch-all for older aisle signs since Publix didn't decide to standardize them across all remodeled stores until roughly 2013-2014. Maybe this was a recession-era cost saving measure for the CM 2.x packages? Regardless, it seems that the ones present in a CM 2.x store can provide some great insight into its remodel history! I believe I've counted seven variants of aisle signs used across the various CM 2.5 stores I have visited in the last year – that's a lot of inconsistency for a such a consistent chain! The seven include: Mock Classy Market 1.0, Classy Market 1.0, Classy Market 2.0, Classy Market 2.0 with Sienna cards, Classy Market 2.5 type 1, Classy Market 2.5-Sienna style, and one more combination that is slipping my mind right now.
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| Courtesy Chris (Foursquare) - Publix #450 - July 18, 2012 |
Speaking of #485, both it and #450 were built with Publix's 56D prototype, which seems to have been used until 1994 (you can read more about Publix's various prototypes). The 56D is laid out largely the same as the later 56S and 56N stores; however, it features a dropped ceiling over the entire store and does not have any skylights. If you remember, I toured a former 56D back in March, which you can read about here.
That's enough history, let's dive into this tour!
When I first saw this store, the façade made me think it was a former Walmart; it makes sense that one resided next door!
The
other distinct feature about the 56D and 56S prototypes when compared
to the 56N is this dining vestibule. While I had previously never eaten a meal
inside a Publix, it seems like it would be nice to sit here and look out
over the parking lot. As I was approaching the store, I got a glimpse
of a grey sign hanging over this area of the store. It was a sign of
more things to come . . .
As we can see, the green beans were taken down and replaced with, well, green. I would like to point out the tile on the right wall in this photo. Publix seemed to install this on top of the old Wavy Pastel tile patterns in its earlier (pre-2016) Sienna remodels, which I feel like was very short sighted. More on that in a minute, but this tile pattern looks like it is safe for the time being.
When I first walked into the store, I realized how many people were clustered by the deli counter. I then realized that it was dinnertime and people probably wanted to get some hot chicken tenders or a Pub Sub to take home! In this shot, we can also see the other side of the "Evergrey" dining sign I spotted outside the store at the interior entrance to the vestibule.
I'd also like to point out the white spot on the sheetrock above the deli line. I'm not sure if construction crews used the wrong paint or if somebody ripped a sign off, but it looked like this portion of the remodel wasn't quite complete. The recessed area used to have a stainless-steel panel with a deli sign as part of Sienna.
Stepping over toward the service meats counter at the deli, we can get a better overview of the front end of this store. Originally, it would have featured a metal frame with lights over the checkout lines (since the store lacks a skylight) but this was probably removed during the CM 2.0 remodel around 2008-2010.
Looking back toward the service meats counter, we notice a few points of
interest. As I mentioned earlier, this store received tile-overlays
during its Sienna remodel in the service departments. The only issue is
these Earth tones don't really match the grey and green of Evergrey
Evergreen. Ever since I first saw this décor package roll out, I had
wondered what Publix would do with some of the wild tile patterns it has
used in the past. Today, I have found an answer: if you look closely,
you will notice white vinyl stickers covering the Sienna tile overlays
that run horizontally. You can also see one white square to the left of
the Boars Head sign, and 1/2 of a square to the right. These squares
would be the store's original Wavy Pastels tile pattern. If only Publix
had installed vinyl stickers here as part of the Sienna remodel like
they did in other stores! I personally think the stickers
look better than the tile, too. One other question I have is why the
tile overlay stops where the Boars Head sign is, and what would have
covered up the Wavy Pastels tile during the Sienna era.
As of late, I've tried to find one random product that I have never seen
before to showcase in each store I tour (thanks Sing Oil Sidekick). Today's random product(s) of
the day are jars of pumpkin and pecan honey mustard. I have to say, I
am definitely intrigued by how these would taste, but still didn't care
enough to buy one and taste it. Over $7 is quite a lot for a jar of mustard!
Anyway,
to the left of the service meats counter is the bakery. It received a
more thorough tile remodel as part of Sienna, similar to how many stores
got the same treatment when remodeling to CM 2.5.
Say
what you want about Evergreen (I will admit, it isn't my favorite
interior Publix has come up with), but the textures used behind the
department signs do look cool.
Spinning around, we see the beginning of the grocery aisles and the section of the store where the ceiling drops even lower. This was the first time in a long time (possibly ever), that I have been in a Publix in a 56D building (Otherwise, I have only seen former #477). While not quite as extreme of a situation as former #477, this store still felt a bit dark and cramped with the low ceilings. I find it interesting that I don't feel this way in the smaller 42N and 49N stores because even though they have a dropped ceiling throughout, they still have raised ceilings over the grocery aisles and the large faux skylight up front.
I also thought it was strange how these first few aisles were staggered.
Moving
toward the back right corner of the store, we find the meat department
just beyond the bakery. This is a very standard configuration for a
larger 1990's Publix.
Likewise, the meat and seafood counters are also located in this section of the store.
We
also get our first glimpse down the back of the store. I do think the
3D effect on the seafood department signage looks neat here!
Even though there were a few short aisles between where I am standing and the grand aisle, this was officially aisle 1: home to prepackaged deli meat, cheese, and refrigerated pasta. I do find this portion of 1990's stores' layouts to be a bit strange. I guess I am accustomed to these products being on the perimeter of the store, near the balance of dairy.
Walking up aisle 2, we see sports drinks and candy, with the seafood department off in the distance. Another thing I don't like about these 56D stores is how the lower grocery department ceilings obscure half of the aisle signs if you are standing in the aisle. I'd imagine the aisle signs would have originally been halfway down the aisle when the store opened, but it still seems like something better could have been done.
Returning to the back of the store, we see the edge of the yogurt cooler, and where the back aisle recedes further into the storage area. I'm not quite sure why these 1990's stores have this feature (maybe to allow more room for the meat and seafood departments), but it is something most of the larger prototypes have.
I'd also like to point out something you may have previously noticed: the aisle signs in this store are entirely green. Typically, Evergreen retains the same green frame that was used with Sienna but swaps out the green category cards for grey ones and the wood-grain numbers for green ones. This store, however, looks to have already swapped out the wood-grain numbers but not yet swapped out the category cards left over from Sienna. I have seen one other picture where the reverse happened, and the wood-grain numbers were left while the grey categories were installed. Maybe I just happened to time my visit just right or maybe supply chain issues have led to shortages of aisle sign components? Regardless, I wouldn't expect the all-green signs to last long, but maybe Evergreen will run into a similar situation as CM 2.5 and inherit all sorts of sign variations!
While it is hard to tell from this photo, I wanted to also note that the "8" is upside down (it was blatantly obvious in the store).
Oddly enough, it seemed to be correctly oriented on the other two faces. This shot also shows how dark some portions of this store are.
Here is a slightly more zoomed-in view of the back left corner of the store, with produce in the distance.
Aisle 9 (which I had to identify from my other photos since I can't read the dang sign!), is home to snacks and soft drinks. If you look on the left side of this photo, you can see one of the columns which houses refrigerant lines going to the freezers on aisle 8 (which I neglected to photograph).
Aisle 11 includes detergents and other cleaning supplies. It looks like certain varieties of Palmolive dish soap were buy-one, get-one this week.
Popping back out of that aisle toward the front of the store, we can see the customer service desk, greeting cards, and magazines. Unfortunately, that Hallmark sign had to get in the way of my view of the pharmacy sign. Rats!
Turning
toward the left side of the store, we see the floral department, the
edge of the pharmaceutical aisles, and the produce department in the
distance.
Before we venture over to produce, we will take a quick look down aisle 13 to see beer, wine, (wet and dry) ice, and frozen popsicles. I've seen this in other Publix stores, but I wish they would put ice with the rest of the freezers rather than by itself in the beer section. I understand that people may want to ice up their coolers when buying a six-pack, but I tend to associate ice more so with the frozen department than the beer!
Like (basically any) Publix built in the 1990's, produce is located in the back left corner of the store. Nothing too crazy here; although, I have noticed how Publix decided to sneak another promotional banner in many of the Evergreen stores’ produce departments. I'm not quite sure I want my orange juice to be creamy! Personally, I feel like that pie photo would be better suited in another department (maybe it is a vegetable pie).
I did manage to get an unobstructed shot of one of this store's pharmacy signs, in addition to the floral sign. We can get a better idea of how the HBA aisles take up the front left corner of the store, in addition to the pharmacy counter. The ceiling also drops lower over this department, after a temporary rise over "the grand funnel."
Speaking of the grand funnel, here is a picture I took while standing in it, looking over the front end of the store.
I also managed to get a better overview of the front end, and some of the Easter literature that was for sale at the time.
I believe that will wrap up my coverage of this store, but it was fun for me to finally witness this prototype as an active Publix – and see an Evergreen surprise. I'll close out this trip to Albany with a look at the old Walmart façade, which currently houses the Hobby Lobby I mentioned earlier.
So what did you think? Should I keep the Sing Oil Sidekick around? I'm sure he'll make another appearance at some point, but I have a feeling you'll be stuck with me for a tour around Middle Georgia for my next post on the Sing Oil Blog. See you then!
- The Sing Oil Blogger
Additional Resources:
Dougherty County Property Records
Parcel ID: 040-2/00000/059
ReplyDeleteI like this post and history, 1, can you dedicate a section in the store models possibly for the types of Publix aisles to distinguish them more. 2. It's confirmed this store had 1.0 since I remember seeing these photos https://flickr.com/photos/barbarajean/albums/72157622195843225 3. the deli seems really bare due to the sheetrock being ripped out, the fact that it's a bland white due to Ever"grey" doesn't help matters and 4, sorry for the really long link but sometime during Wavy, the store had teal signage on the front https://gray-walb-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/5iv4VyRFWul4_m0C4irb2mUXBqQ=/980x0/smart/filters:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/LSHSYQIO6JGJ3H2W73NFQN55TE.jpg
Also a shutterstock photo shows a great picture of the Wavy days https://www.shutterstock.com/editorial/image-editorial/vidalia-onions-albany-usa-6452171a
DeleteThank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the post! As for your points:
Delete1. What do you mean by the types of Publix aisles? Do you mean the different designs of aisle markers used? I intend to have a page with extensive documentation on the nuances of each décor package but haven't had the time to flesh it out. I also plan to include pictures of each style of aisle sign used with each package. If you are referring to specific aisle layouts in each store, I'm not sure I'm good enough of a drafter to execute that task; I'll gladly accept submissions though!
2. Thanks for sending the link to that Flickr album! I added the one picture from it which seemed to have the best indication of the décor at the time but I still couldn't make a solid conclusion. It looks like the walls and aisle signs had already been painted to indicate a Classy Market 1.0 remodel had occurred, but I couldn't tell for sure.
3. The deli does look really bare in my picture; nonetheless, I think the look was only temporary. I'd imagine it wasn't long after I took these pictures when construction crews made their way back to the store and installed some new signage over the blank part of the wall.
4. You've got to love some really old, grainy pictures from WALB! This store would've opened with the lettering seen in that picture and likely swapped to the current sign with its CM 1.0 or CM 2.0 remodel (since it was there by 2012).
5. Great find with that Shutterstock photo, I got that one added as well! Would you like me to attribute your tips to a specific name / pseudonym?
I'm talking about the different designs of aisle markers for #1
DeleteFor #5, You can attribute me as GeorgiaPubDude if you want too, kinda cringe IK but it fits since I mostly have really knowledgeable Publix stuff and I'm from Georgia
Then yeah, I intend make a page with some pictures of the aisle sign variations and hopefully I'll have time to do so in December. I also tried to write up descriptions of all of the Invigorate/CM 2.5 variations I have seen in the wild for one of my posts, but I couldn't find that blurb the other day so it could have been on one of my drafts that was accidentally deleted.
DeleteI've seen worse names than "GeorgiaPubDude"! I got that swapped out in the post, and feel free to use that name on any other comments in the future so I can give you credit! In Blogger's "Comment as:" drop-down menu, there is an option for "Name / URL" where I think you can add a custom name like that and not have it linked to a Google account. I think that's what "Anonymous in Houston" uses so I assume it works.
Forget the Hard Rock in Hollywood, next time I want to gamble I just need to go to a random gas station in SW Georgia for my chances with lady luck! I'll grab a nutty Coke while I play the slots and take in all the relics from the Sing Oil days! That was nice of the Sing Oil Sidekick to photograph this store for you, although I'm surprised you didn't venture over here yourself since you visited the Publix up the road! Oh well, Sing Oil Sidekick to the rescue! I look forward to seeing what else he may be bringing to the blog in the future!
ReplyDeleteOld Harvey's #2322 next to the Kmart appears to have originally been a Kmart Foods, Kmart's short-lived supermarket concept from the 1970's that didn't last very long. It's interesting to see all the reaction the other local supermarket competitors had to Publix's opening in Albany. I guess a reaction like that means the competitors really see you as a threat, and like we've seen so many times, Publix was the winner in the end. As weird as the coming and going of supermarkets in Albany have been, at least Piggly Wiggly and Food Lion came back to town to provide some variety to the people who live there, rather than leaving Publix and Walmart to be the only ones to fill the void left behind after SEG closed all the Harvey's stores in town.
I also agree that 56D stores can feel a bit dark and cramped in the lower ceiling part of the store. Publix #1444 was probably the nicest 56D I've been to, and that was probably because it had its lower ceiling removed when that was reconstructed following the plane crash in 2012. It really made the store feel more open. Some of the Florida 56D stores have had their dining areas closed off to be turned into liquor stores, which has also made for an interesting conversion.
Haha, I think I heard where the Sing Oil Sidekick was down in Hollywood for a work trip a while back, so maybe he should have written up a comparison for us! Regardless, it is a lot cheaper to "roll the dice" with the local gas station than travel all the way to South Florida! I'm also a bit surprised I didn't venture into this station, but I've just heard too many stories regarding incidents in Albany, so I suppose I didn't want to "press my luck". . .
DeleteThanks for the info on the old Harveys #2322 – that was really bothering me! I had wondered what supermarket would have operated adjacent to a 1970's Kmart and figured it wasn't originally a Harveys. I'll also add the tidbit about Kmart Foods to the post. I, too, was fascinated by the reaction from the other local supermarkets, and probably spent way more time than I should have researching this store in The Albany Herald. At least the people of Albany aren't only left with Publix and Walmart, but it appears that there is far less competition today than there was in 1993.
I would hope that #1444 was nice considering how it was basically rebuilt within the last decade! It would be interesting to see the difference the lack of the lower ceiling makes, and I'm sure it feels much more open without that feature. I've seen where some of the Floridian stores had their dining areas converted into liquor stores, but the only similar thing I have seen in Georgia is where #33 uses its dining area for a Starbucks.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who was left dumbfounded when I saw that photo of the Publix which looks like a Pylon design Wal-Mart! I scratched my head and said that is either a Pub-Mart (Wal-Lix?) or that Publix was built with a Wal-Mart in the shopping center. Well, I guess I was right about that latter one, but it's still very strange! It's almost like one of the former Albertsons (now Food Town...with Albertsons' Blue & Grey Market interior mostly intact!) near me which was in a Target shopping center (Target is still there) and has Target's rainbow stripes on it! Link: https://goo.gl/maps/4qkzjzuCZCVmLs9s8
ReplyDeleteThat comment about the Publix and the labor unions is an interesting one. Publix most certainly did rub it in about the management skills of the people in Georgia! That statement certainly came with some risk as they could have really offended the people in Georgia, but I guess things have worked out okay for Publix over there.
1993 was certainly the year of discounting in the Houston grocery market and it seems the same was true in Albany. Food Lion and HEB Pantry Foods moved to Houston in 1992, but 1993 was really the first year both had a major presence around town. Kroger, Randall's, and the independents in town responded by engaging in a price war with double coupons, triple coupons, and all of that. Prior to the onslaught of discounters, Kroger and especially Randall's had the good fortune to be able to ask for higher prices due to the lack of any major discount chains in town. The independents they competed with were generally not major threats on the price front. That all changed in 1992-3 though. Kroger responded well with a double attack: lowered prices and nice, big, new Kroger Signature stores. This kept them on top until the 2000s when Wal-Mart and HEB upped their efforts in Houston. Randall's had a hard time balancing their image as a higher-end grocery store and the need to discount. At the same time, Randall's was distracted by their expansion outside the Houston area and their purchase of Tom Thumb. This all led to KKR and Safeway later buying the chain in 1999. Oddly enough, Randall's was the last grocer in town to have double coupons. I think that finally went away around the time of the Safeway-Albertsons merger.
This store might well be the best looking nEvergreen Publix I've seen. Granted, that's still not high praise! I think in a store like this, nEvergreen would work...if all that grey was some other color! Quetionable color choices aside, this store does look like a nice place to shop. Being a Georgia Publix, perhaps the prices would not be quite as shocking as a Florida Publix, but I don't know! It does look like Albany had labor issues like Kroger had in Houston in the 1980s, but they decided to stick around here (and why wouldn't they...they were sharing the top of the marketshare list here with Randall's at the time!), but they didn't stick around in Albany.
You were far from the only one perplexed as to why this Publix looks like a Walmart! Thank you for sharing the link to that Food Town too because it answers a few questions I had about that specific Albertsons prototype. Are all of the department signs in that store original, or did Food Town paint them red and change the lettering on others? I thought Albertsons used the “Frozen Meats” corner for a butcher/seafood counter. Also, what would Albertsons have used the space for to the left of the customer service counter? Anyway, get ready for an intimate look at one of these stores which will hopefully go live next month! It is also so strange to see an Albertsons façade use Target’s 1990’s design language!
DeleteI was shocked when I read Publix’s official comments about the labor unions too; although, I feel like most shoppers don’t consider if the employees are unionized or if they came from the neighboring state (which is about an hour drive from Albany) as long as they are doing their job!
That’s an interesting blurb on the Houston retail market and how it was undergoing similar changes to Albany in 1992-3. I can’t remember seeing any recent store offer double coupons, so I’m surprise that the practice lasted as long as it did at Randall’s.
I hadn’t thought about it much, but you are right that this store doesn’t look half-bad with Evergreen. I suppose the lower ceiling over the center of the store helps to break up the monotony, as well as the limited wall space which needs to be covered by something. Publix also seemed to add a few “accent bars” with pops of green to break up the monotony. I can think of one other store I’ve been to recently that looks particularly good for Evergreen, mostly due to texture from metal awnings that are holdovers from the store’s original package. Kroger must’ve figured that Albany wasn’t worth the fight with the labor unions to stick around, and Publix has certainly taken up a much larger slice than Kroger could’ve likely dreamed of in the area.
Food Town did actually modify the decor at that store a little bit. The signage was originally blue and Food Town turned it maroon. Furthermore, some of those department signs are, as you suspected, not original. Food Town seemed to have a signmaker in their Rolodex who had expertise in matching other retailer's decor as they have made their own signage using Albertsons and Food Lion's exact decor! Most of the signage is the same as Albertsons, but as you saw, the seafood counter corner is not the same here as Food Town does not have a meat service counter.
DeleteThe little room to the left of the customer service desk (viewing things from the registers) that is now a hair salon used to be the video rental room. To the right of that was the customer service/photo department desk, and then to the right of that was the in-store bank. At least that's how I remember things, but I'm quite sure that's how they were. It's been 20 years since Albertsons left town though, but our Albertsons Towns and Krogertsons have absolutely kept their memory alive here in Houston just as Food Town has kept the memories of 1990s Food Lion alive!
An interesting note about most of these Food Towns is that it wasn't actually Food Town themselves who have preserved the decor from other grocers. I know that is a confusing statement. Let me explain. Food Town was founded, and continues to be owned, by the Lewis family here in Houston (incidentally, Food Town's colors are maroon and white after Texas A&M University's colors since the founder was a proud A&M alum) . There was another major independent grocer in Houston run by the Gerland family. Gerland's Food Fair was their main banner and they were similar to a Safeway/Kroger type supermarket. They also had a higher-end banner and a couple of discount supermarkets similar to Food Town. They were a major operator here in Houston for decades.
I'm not sure why, but at some point in the 2000s, Gerland's and the Lewises made a deal and Gerland's started converting many of their stores (and eventually opening new locations in these old Albertsons and so forth) to Food Towns. These stores were still owned and run by Gerland's, but they otherwise were identical in operation, more or less, to the Lewis-owned Food Towns. At some point a few years ago, the Gerland family exited the grocery business and sold their Food Towns to the Lewis family. Now, they are all under common ownership, but it was really the legendary Houston grocery chain Gerland's that kept these strange 'museums' of past Houston chains alive. The funny thing is that Gerland's very much had their own decor with their old Gerland's Food Fair stores so I'm not sure why they decided to use other chain's decor along the way, but it's kind of neat that they did!
I don't know about Georgia, but even 30-40 years ago, a pretty large number of Houston grocery stores (Kroger, Safeway/AppleTree, and Weingarten at the very least) had union labor. Although Texas isn't viewed as a very strong union state, people did take shopping at a union store seriously even here. These days, that sense really doesn't exist at all, but it was still of some importance in the 1990s as we saw with Food Lion's struggles due in part to their poor labor reputation. I remember Kroger's employees striking here in Houston in the late 1980s and one had to cross the picket line to shop there during the strike. These days, Kroger is the only union grocer of any major size here in Houston. Although Randall's is owned by Safeway/Albertsons, they are not a union chain (this could cause an issue with the proposed merger). HEB obviously is not a union grocer either. I don't think many people here even think about union status anymore, but that was not always the case.
Okay, that makes much more sense for Food Town to have painted the signs maroon. It is surprising how talented their signmaker is, and I feel like Atlanta’s Nam Dae Mun should get their number next time they open a new store (rather than whoever made some of their bootleg signs)! Who knows, maybe Food Town found the people who originally made some of the signs and had access to original graphics or fonts.
DeleteYes, I was asking about the current hair salon, so video rental makes sense! It is crazy how they had room for a bank up front, yet they combined the customer service and photo desks. At least you have good museums for a variety of stores in the form of Food Town, much like Atlanta has their Nam Dae Muns or LaGrange has its Piggly Wiggly.
What a complicated history about the local Food Towns, but I’m glad Gerland’s preserved what they did. It’s rare to see one company preserve décor from the former tenant, but even more special to see two. Maybe Gerland’s was just a fan of vintage retail interiors themselves and that’s why they kept what they did.
I personally don’t know much about the history of labor unions in Georgia, much less their status today, but I’d say that goes to show how people here don’t think much about whether a store is unionized or not. Like I mentioned before, I know Kroger still has a sizable union presence in the state, and Publix seems to have done just fine not being involved with unions.
Another great post from the Sing Oil Blogger -- and the Sing Oil Sidekick! (Nice to officially meet you!) Like AFB said, it's a little surprising you didn't get the chance to visit the Sing Store yourself while you were in town, but glad your Sidekick was able to make it. And I also agree with Anonymous in Houston, when I first saw that Publix with the Wal-Mart facade I thought I was going crazy!
ReplyDeleteThank you, and I'm glad my sidekick could make his debut too! I think I remember I was running on a tight schedule when I stopped at this Publix and I didn't feel the need to see the station since Sing Oil Sidekick had already photographed it. Maybe I'll stop by next time I'm in the area though! I'm really curious now if any other Publix took on the design language of a Walmart or a Target (like the Albertsons Anonymous in Houston mentioned).
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