Thomasville #6 - Thomasville, GA
Thomasville #6
Sing Food Store | The Happy Penny
Thomasville, GA 31792
Scroll Down for my More Than Convenience post on former Publix #476
Keep on scrolling for my More Than Convenience post on Publix #1498
Revised Publix #476 section: March 13, 2023 | Original Publication: May 21, 2022
I feel like a lot of my posts lately have centered around the Atlanta Sing Stores, but this week I'm going to change that up by showcasing Sing's newest convenience store on their home turf. Being only an eight-minute drive from their home office, you would think that I could have found more info on this location or discovered some old pictures. Unfortunately, I didn't. What I do know is that Thomasville #6 was built in 1983 at the corner of Remington Avenue and Pinetree Boulevard in what would be considered Thomasville's commercial district of town. At the time of its construction, the nearby Gateway Shopping Center had been well established with the likes of Belk-Hudson (here is a nice aerial view looking south toward Pinetree Blvd), Woolworth, Gateway Cinemas, and an A&P grocery store. Across the intersection of Pinetree and Remington, you could find Kmart (circa 1979), and a soon-to-be-built Winn-Dixie Marketplace (which appears to have opened in 1986 and would succumb to the chain's large 2005 closure round).
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| Former Winn-Dixie #57 - Pine Tree Plaza - Source Unknown - 2005-2006 |
I just love the look of these first-gen Marketplace stores, and I couldn't resist sharing the picture of #57 shortly after it closed. I forget where I managed to find it. Roses discount store has since taken over the space and removed the iconic façade. I also managed to find this picture of #57 from 2011, while it still retained the Marketplace look.
At the time of its construction, the Sing Store was itself surrounded by a number of baseball fields which would soon be plowed over to make way for new development.
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| Former Eckerd Drugs #3908 - Site of The Happy Penny |
At the time of this store's construction, Sing decided to also kick the tires of new concept: The Happy Penny, which was designed to be a full-blown grocery store with bare-bones design and fixtures. I've heard that the store featured a warehouse atmosphere, reminiscent of today's membership clubs such as Sam's or Costco, where product was displayed directly in the cardboard cases to decrease labor costs associated with restocking and increase the value for the customer. Additionally, customers were asked to bag their own groceries in brown paper bags, which was a much more foreign concept in 1983 than it is today. One difference, however, from today's discount grocers is The Happy Penny carried name-brand products you would find in any other store. Needless to say, this concept might have been a bit ahead of its time and failed to gain traction with the local market. It wasn't long after opening that Sing decided to shutter the location and move on to other, more profitable ventures. A local sporting goods store, called Bear Sports, operated out of the former Happy Penny space for several years before shuttering. Eventually, a shiny new Eckerd pharmacy would be built on the site and open in April 2004, only surviving roughly a year itself (looking much like this when it opened). Hopefully I can gain more insight into the short-lived concept for a full-featured post, but that's all I have for now. Until then, we can take a gander at the Eckerd pharmacy building which took the place of The Happy Penny.
Something I found interesting, but could be unrelated, is a group called "Happy Partners, Inc." was formed in 1988 and eventually sold this property to the Eckerd developer on July 1, 2003. Unfortunately, the Thomas County Property Records aren't good about showing sales before the late-1990's, so I don't know if this corporation was formed simply as a shell company to purchase the former Happy Penny building from Sing Oil Company. The listed executives of this company don't seem to be related to Sing Oil, so it makes me wonder if Sing decided to close the store and sell this property in 1988 to the group in attempt to clean up their books prior to the Amoco merger. I guess that will remain a mystery for another day, but it is some food for thought!
The station seems to be a one-off design for the Thomasville chain, as I have never come across another Sing built as a small convenience store sandwiched between four pump islands with the canopy spanning the structure. I certainly think Sing had the room to build one of their other small-format stations here, so I'm not sure why the opted for the different design. Maybe they wanted a trial store for a concept which never took off? Maybe the focus was on The Happy Penny, so a larger convenience store would not have been needed?
Regardless, Thomasville #6 was one of the 56 locations sold to Amoco in 1990 and was shortly turned around and sold again to Autrey Petroleum (similar to Thomasville #5 which we explored a while back). Sometime around 2002 (roughly 10 years after the Amoco sale, when any fuel contracts would have expired), Autrey converted all of its stations to the Chevron banner. I believe Autrey ended up filing for bankruptcy around 2004 and sold most of its assets to Flash Foods of Waycross, GA, who then opted to convert Autrey's Sunrise Pantry convenience stores to Flash Foods name.
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Circle K - Former Sunrise Pantry / Flash Foods #281 - Pelham, GA |
I discovered a former Autrey station in Pelham, GA still sporting the Sunrise Pantry brand on the back wall of the convenience store and decided it was something worth photographing. Although it isn't Thomasville #6, I feel confident that this picture depicts a similar scene to how the store in this post would have looked.
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| Circle K - Former Sunrise Pantry / Flash Foods #281 - Pelham, GA |
The Pelham station also features an old Amoco direction sign out by the road which I couldn't resist photographing!
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| Flash Foods #280 - Yelp (Andrew S.) - February 28, 2012 |
Back in Thomasville, after Flash Foods swapped out the building's signage, I don't believe they did much with the store. Around 2012, Flash Foods converted the station to sell their own brand of gasoline, and thus changed out the Chevron canopy design and road sign (which would have previously looked like this). In 2017, Flash Foods was acquired by Circle K, which began a very slow brand rollout across the chain.
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| Flash Foods #280 - Thomas County Property Appraiser - May 8, 2019 |
Circle K decided to renovate this station around 2017, installing a new convenience store roof and new canopy; however, they failed to add any sort of Circle K branding and left a few pitiful Flash Foods signs on the building. I understand why Circle K didn't want to spend the money to make this station look like a Flash Foods again, but I still wonder why they even bothered to leave it as a Flash Foods. Regardless, the store would finally become a Circle K in 2020.
I didn't get around to photographing this station until after Circle K finished their takeover, and I was really shocked at what I found once I was inside. I didn't have a groundbreaking Sing discovery, but I realized how tiny this store actually was. I've complained about several other Sing Stores feeling crowded, but this one was straight up tiny! The entire building is approximately 1,150 sq. ft., meaning the usable sales floor is even smaller.
With this store being so small, it was also fairly difficult to photograph without being noticed. Our first look is down the back wall of the store, facing Pinetree Boulevard to the East. This store still has Sing's original rust-colored tiles, and possibly the original drink coolers on my right. Just for reference, my back was practically against the wall behind me when I took this picture.
Turning to my left, we see the Western door of the convenience store which leads to a saloon full of cowboys two gas pumps. We also see the fountain drink and coffee station in the front corner of the store (facing Remington Avenue).
Stepping forward a bit, we see more of the fountain drink station, the cash register, and the Eastern door to the convenience store. The aisle to my right is the only one in this store, other than a few displays placed against the wall like the one we see above.
Finally, our last interior shot was taken from the line for the cash register, looking to the South. This display lines the Eastern wall of the store down the hallway leading to a small storage room and the door to the drink cooler.
While the store is a bit unconventional, it still received the Sing vacuum light pair out in the parking lot. I believe the light fixtures were removed by Circle K during their remodel, but posts are still standing.
We'll take a quick look at some satellite and street views before we walk right over to former Publix #476.
Street Views
Flash Foods #280 / Chevron station - View from Pinetree Blvd.
Flash Foods #280 / Chevron station - View from Pinetree Blvd.
Flash Foods #280 - View from Remington Ave.
Circle K shortly after station remodel - Notice Sing lighting still in use - View from Remington Ave.
Aerial Views
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| Historic Aerials - 1957 Future site of Thomasville #6 Sing Store |
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| Historic Aerials - 1983 Thomasville #6 and The Happy Penny under construction |
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| Historic Aerials - 1984 Newly-opened Thomasville #6 (top) and Happy Penny (bottom) |
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| Google Earth - January 1993 Amoco station, former Happy Penny, and future site of Publix #476 |
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| Google Earth - February 1999 Amoco station, former Happy Penny, and Publix #476 |
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| Google Earth - January 2011 Flash Foods #280, former Eckerd #3980, and Publix #476 |
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| Google Earth - March 2021 Circle K, Archbold Primary Care, and Ollie's Bargain Outlet #380 |
Publix Bargain Outlet
Revised: March 10, 2023 | Original Publication: May 21, 2022
I received a comment a before I originally published this post last year suggesting I should start a series on abandoned Publix stores throughout the state of Georgia. While I'm still not sure I will be able to make it to all 29 of them (including the potentially very cool #460 in Statesboro which has been vacant since 1999), I figured I could give it a shot and continue my "When Publix Waves Goodbye" series. Fortunately, I had already planned to write about old #476 before I received that comment since it was conveniently located on the lot behind the Thomasville #6 Sing Store (hence, another example of Publix choosing to co-locate with a Sing like they did all over Tallahassee). You've since seen me purchase an entire store's worth of Invigorate décor from a Publixsons, explore a closed GreenWise Market, and draft a three-part series covering former Publixes #477, #520, #535, and #790.
Ollie's Bargain Outlet #380 / Former Publix #476
Pinetree Shopping Center
Thomasville, GA 31792
I also thought it would be cool to design a logo
for this series inspired by Publix's private label from the 1990's. If you read my second post over on The Albertsons Florida Blog, you'll remember that I happened to still
have a bottle of Publix hydrogen peroxide with this packaging. I managed to take that picture and manipulate
the label through Photoshop to arrive at the outcome we see above. I thought it was neat and was surprised how
I only needed to make four letters from scratch (let's see if you can guess
which ones: there is an easy way and a hard way). I have since discovered a similar font to the one Publix used throughout the 1990's and early-2000's and decided to make the graphics we see below.
Publix #476 was the twenty-first Publix to open in the state of Georgia (they have since opened over 200 more), and first welcomed customers on March 21, 1994. Other stores to open in the state before it were in Savannah / Brunswick, Atlanta, Valdosta, Albany, Athens, Statesboro, and Warner Robbins. I say this because Thomasville received a Publix before three of Georgia's largest cities did: a month before Columbus & Macon, a year before Augusta, and only two years and four months after the first Publix opened in the state.
This is noteworthy because Thomasville is much smaller than any of the above cities. The next smallest being Statesboro with Bulloch county's population hovering around 75,000 people, compared to Thomas County only having about 44,000 people (these are 2022 estimates). This fact still shocks me, based on most of the other cities' metro areas having closer to 100,000 people, or more. Thomasville is only 30 minutes from Tallahassee, FL which probably helped influence the decision to build a store there, but the similarly sized Bainbridge, GA has yet to receive a Publix in 2022!
Thomasville must have been special in Publix's eyes because in 2014, they announced that they would replace #476 with a new second-gen 54M just down the street. Store #1498 would open on September 10, 2015, the day after #476 saw its final customers depart. Contrary to my previous three posts in this series, Publix waved goodbye to the Pinetree Shopping Center on a positive note and simply wanted a larger store with a new lease on life. I regret not being able to photograph #476 before its current tenant moved in, as it seems it remained vacant for a number of years after 2015, but at least I managed to scrape up a few pictures online before the store was abandoned.
The first photos we'll examine come from an old real estate listing on LoopNet, which will give us a
good idea of how this shopping center looked back when Publix occupied
it. Unfortunately, the listing has since been updated to only include pictures of the shopping center as it currently stands (white paint and all).
I may have been a bit late to the retail blogging scene, but I don't recall seeing this particular version of Publix's 1972 rectangular logo on any other store; I've typically seen the inverted version instead. It appears that the photo above was taken around 2011 based on the additional tenants; surprisingly, only one, Nail Designs, has remained until 2022. The nail salon, Sweet Basil's Health Foods, and The Shoe Box have all been around since at least 2008, but the latter two eventually moved elsewhere after Publix vacated the premises.
Interestingly, Publix changed out the bottom road sign and the building signage at some point between March 2008 and July 2011.
We can see from these shots that the store used Publix's familiar
late-1980's, early-1990's split vestibule layout. This particular store
is what I refer to as the 40N model because it is roughly 40,000 sq.
ft.
I still want to thank a previous commenter for showing me Georgia's pharmacy database, because I was able to find where Rite Aid Discount Pharmacy #7402 used to be located in the storefront to the right of Publix (where Dollar Corner is shown above). The license for Rite Aid was issued on July 12, 1999 and expired on June 30, 2001, so this pharmacy seemed to be very short-lived.
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| Courtesy Thomas County Property Records - Former Pinetree Shopping Center ColorTyme |
After Rite Aid left, ColorTyme rent-to-own occupied this space before Rent-A-Center purchased the chain and took over the lease.
In Popular Culture
Portions of the 2022 movie Bandit were filmed at Pinetree Shopping Center for a scene of a robbery taking place inside a fictitious bank. Camera shots focused on the former Shoe Box storefront but also show the adjacent Chicken Salad Chick restaurant and the left vestibule of the Ollie's.
Additionally, the trailer for the 2022 movie Sam & Kate features several scenes from inside former Publix #476 after the space had been converted to Ollie's Bargain Outlet. These may not be the gems of a vintage Publix tour, but I suppose they are better than nothing.
With that behind us, let's take a glimpse at the inside of the Publix.
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| Courtesy Publix Tee (Myspace) - Publix #476 Front End - Date Unknown |
This store would have opened with a variation of the Wavy Pastels interior and likely remodeled to Classy Market 1.0 / Kiwi in either 2001 or 2004. Unfortunately, the permit list for this property in the Thomas County tax records isn't too helpful because it only lists a date and a permit number, neither listing a dollar value nor the applicable storefront.
I found the picture above on, of all places, Myspace. While the social network appears to have deleted all of its older photos around 2019, I was still able to (somehow) trace the photo description back to a what I believe is the original file in Google's search cache. If this photo is indeed of #476, it was taken sometime before 2008. It appears that the customer service sign uses the serif font and the bakery signage is set on an off-white background which would lead me to believe this was taken between the store's first and second remodels. Although it is very grainy, we can still see the iconic faux skylight over the checkout lanes.
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| Courtesy Publix Tee (Myspace) - Employees of Publix #476 |
I also found this picture of some of the store's staff members at the time standing in front of the customer service counter. Those secondary customer service signs are most-definitely faced with a serif font, which helps support the theory of a Kiwi remodel.
Our biggest indicator of remodels-past is this spreadsheet of equipment I managed to dig back up from the store's 2015 auction. It lists a variety of items, but the most intriguing are the groups of refrigeration fixtures which primarily fall into three year-model ranges: 2001, 2008, and 2012. This seems to indicate the store received its first major remodel in 2001 which replaced most of the freezer units and also could have included a décor swap.
Taking another look at the Georgia pharmacy database, we can see where this store received a new pharmacy license in 2008. Since this location didn't open with a pharmacy, I would imagine Publix embarked on a full remodel of the space when this department was added, bringing Classy Market 2.0 / Invigorate to the Rose City.
I say this because this Foursquare picture above shows several key indicators: Avenir "WELCOME TO PUBLIX" lettering (which seems to match the foam letters from #1331), CM 1.0-style aisle signs, "Tigereye" paint behind the bakery sign, what appears to be "Blissful Blue" paint above frozen foods, and Publix's old-style of checkout line. Here's what all of that means: we saw in the Myspace photo that the bakery wall was not painted orange, and I know that Publix didn't adopt the Avenir font until roughly 2007. We will also see that this store closed with newer aisle signs and received updated checkout conveyor belts. All of this leads me to believe the Classy Market 2.5 / Bamboo remodel had not yet occurred when the above photo was taken, but a remodel was also not currently underway. This points to the store boasting Invigorate between 2008 and 2012 (which is a short turnaround for a remodel in Publix's book).
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| Courtesy dbeckwit (Flickr) - Aisle 2 - August 13, 2013 |
While I couldn't find any pictures with definitive proof that the store ever had Invigorate, I found a couple showing the store's look with the Bamboo Environment Package – the product of the 2012 remodel. This picture shows aisle 2, which looks to be where some health and beauty products were sold. It seems that this would have been one aisle over to the left from the dairy aisle, looking toward the prepackaged lunch meats in the back of the store.
I'd like to point out the old-style H&BA aisle toppers Publix still used in this store; I had previously thought these were long-extinct from the chain until I came across some photos Flickr user Ian Woods took inside Publix #1329 a few weeks ago. Most stores (including the surprisingly dated #172 and #1331) have long since updated this signage to a newer style.
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| Source Unknown - Floral Department - February 15, 2015 |
Our final look inside the store while it remained open for business shows some nice orchids and other flowers. Judging by this picture, the floral department was located on the front edge of the produce department, toward the frozen food aisles and the bakery.
I had originally only been able to find the select photo collages below from an archive of the store's auction website, but frequent reader GeorgiaPubDude recently reached out to inform me he had found more images from the sale. Interestingly, the collages include several pictures that aren't available on the page GeorgiaPubDude came across.
Our first collage from this store was intended to highlight the floral case and a bank of Hill Phoenix freezers on aisle 13.
In this picture, we can see a reflection of the produce, meat, and seafood departments along with the old Wavy Pastels awnings. We can also see part of the Frozen department sign that straddled aisles 13 and 14.
The next set of photos show a cooler located next to the deli, and a coffin cooler which was likely between the aisles 13 and 14 near the produce department.
The collage above shows this store's mid-CM 2.5 aisle signs and the store's bakery. Note how this store even received CM 2.5 tile in the bakery only a few years before it would permanently close (I'll provide more on the tile theory later).
Our final collage may look like a hodge-podge of random equipment, but it actually solved one of the longstanding mysteries I've wondered about ever since I photographed the Ollie's (which relates to the tile theory I mentioned above). On the left, we see one of 5 child carts in the store (which is a design I remember vividly but haven't seen in years – I know those were very heavy and awkward to push around) in addition to a deli warming case (?) and two floor scrubbers parked in front of the old cold cuts cooler (with the deli alcove in the distance).
While we are on the subject of shopping carts, this store would have closed with a full fleet of Tote 1409C (thanks for the tip, Retail Regents) buggies; however, only 5 of them were listed as being for sale in the auction. I know Publix didn't push the remaining carts down the road to #1498 . . .
. . . because that store still had some rough-looking Technibilt 4140W carts from May 2015 last time I went. To me, this indicates that #1498 opened with all new carts so I'd imagine Publix kept #476's old buggies to facilitate repairs for older stores. I believe Publix still issued new white-handled 1409Gs until 2012 so they weren't that out of date at the time.
The photo above also shows some of Publix's brand new grey powder coated 4140Ws that I first noticed last summer. The ones found in #1498 have a manufacture date of October 2022.
The logical progression from discussing shopping carts is to discuss the cart corrals in the parking lot. This is one of two that was sold at auction, and looks to be in much better shape than the one listed from Publix #1331 . . . at least those only sold for 60¢!
As for the additional photos GeorgiaPubDude tipped me off to, he couldn't quite remember where he downloaded them from. It wasn't until I really started digging when I came across an older archive of the auction website featuring additional photos from November 11, 2015, were still listed: I was thrilled!
We'll enter the store through the right vestibule (the one not visible in the cart corral photo) and first look at part of the old pharmaceuticals section. Since the pharmacy was located in the old multipurpose nook (which still appears to have its mirrored dropped ceiling grid in place) a major department reset would have been required when this feature was installed. Chips and drinks were previously located in this section of the store. These shelves also featured the old backlit H&BA aisle toppers I mentioned earlier (I think the yellow ones had popcorn while the blue ones had water ripples).
We'll then take a walk down aisle 1 to look at some of the dairy coolers. These lined the left side of the aisle and hosted yogurt, cottage cheese and cold beer (down at the end). The pharmacy signage and nook can be seen off in the distance.
As for the next auction photo, I am guessing this was taken in the stock room which runs along the right side of the store behind aisle 1's other dairy coolers. That placement would also explain the dump bins we see in the foreground: 40N stores typically use these in front of the multipurpose nook / pharmacy counter for promotional displays. The photographer would currently have his / her back to the pharmacy space, which you can get a better idea of from this floor plan for the extremely similar store #468.
Heading back to the back of aisle 1, we find the cooler that was used for eggs, and possibly bacon, nestled between two stockroom doors.
We'll turn the corner and take a look at the old cold cuts cooler which ran along the back wall between the deli alcove and stock room door. If bacon was not located with eggs in the previous cooler, it would have been located here, along with sausage and smoked meats. We can see the deli drink station and alcove of in the distance just beyond the floor cleaning machine.
We'll skip over the deli (since there weren't any good pictures from the auction) and take a look at the service meat window and the edge of the seafood counter. I believe the black shelves on the right side of this photo were used for premade meals like microwavable Bob Evans mashed potatoes.
Taking a few more steps down the back wall, we'll come to the seafood counter and old sushi display (which was 100% not open when this photo was taken). Publix didn't begin to offer sushi in most of its stores until the last 15-years or so, so I'd imagine this was added during the 2008 or possibly the 2012 remodel.
It also looks like Publix removed any Wavy Pastels tile this store would've originally featured, so I wonder if this is the tile pattern that was used.
Turning around, we see the old frozen seafood endcap display situated between aisles 12 and 13 (with a nice reflection of the meat department awning in the glass). Judging by the shelving pieces I see next to the Thomas English muffin display I see on aisle 12, it looks like that section of the aisle previously housed bottles of MiO "water enhancers" and the sort to assist customers with turning water into wine (the latter of which was also found on aisle 12).
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| "Wine Aisle Decor Toppers" - Pinterest - Store unknown |
Based on pictures of other similar stores I have been to, soft drinks were located on the same side of the aisle as the MiO while wine / wine coolers would have backed up to the freezers on aisle 13. In the photo below, I can see the edge of Publixes now-retired "Wine Simplified" wine aisle toppers sticking out from aisle 12 which would have looked like the ones in the photo above.
As for the store's front speedway, we can see how it was set up back when Publix #476 was in operation. It is especially strange seeing the old Apron's meal demonstration station still in place considering all of those seemingly disappeared overnight in 2021. Unfortunately, I only managed to capture the top portions of two of these counters before they were all gone and it was too late: one in store #1498 and one in store #1167. The counter had already been removed from a different store by the time I photographed it in March 2021.
I can decipher most of what is listed on the signs for aisles 3 (soups, canned fruit, canned meat, juice, and international foods) and 4 (kitchen utensils, rice / dry beans, canned vegetables, and pasta), but somebody with better guessing skills than me will have to evaluate 5-7. I can assume that aisle 10 had foil and paper products, while we can see in a different photo above that aisle 9 had detergent and cleaning supplies, and aisle 8 had pet supplies, charcoal, stationary, and batteries.
Surprisingly, Publix had already removed the old conveyor belt lines by the time this photo was taken so I wonder if they ended up being repurposed at a different store. They were only 3-years old after all!
That is all I have managed to dig up from this store's time as a Publix, but let's see what currently remains at this location.
Taking a look at the outside of the shopping center, we can see where it was painted white before Ollie's Bargain Outlet moved in. We can also see that the façade of the building generally looks the same as Publix left it, with only the section behind the Ollie's sign being modified a bit.
Walking up to the vestibule, it looks like Publix's green post covers managed to stay but Ollie's did decide to swap out Publix's sliding doors for a different style.
Just inside the vestibule, everything seems to look about the same as Publix would have left it, but Ollie's did add a second set of doors here. Let's see what other traces of Publix we can find inside . . .
Also, Orange . . . you glad Ollie's managed to round up enough former Home Depot (the larger ones) Big Lots (the smaller ones) buggies to stock this store? (their puns are even worse than mine!)
At a first glance, not much is left; however, the keen eyed retail fan can manage to scrape up a few traces. After I turned a bit to the right, I spotted my first obvious Publix relic: a CM 2.5 "Authorized Personnel Only" sign on the stairwell to the upstairs offices. I'll go ahead and say that this was basically the extent of my Publix décor finds in this store.
Heading on over to the left wall of the store, we see Ollie's literature section occupies Publix's old bakery. Ollie's did a pretty good job of sanitizing any obvious Publix relics from this space, but they didn't remove the old terrazzo! The bare concrete flooring would have been the service area for the bakery while the terrazzo stopped at the edge of the sales floor.
Furthermore, if we walk a bit further toward the back of the store, we find ourselves in Publix's old produce department. I took this shot looking back toward the front of the store, and we can see where the wall used to angle back toward the sales floor to allow for storage space behind the freezers and preparation space behind the bakery. I took this picture from a very similar vantage point as the flower admirer we saw earlier.
Next up, we'll take a look down what used to be the back aisle of Publix. The seafood department would have been to our left, followed by meats, with produce behind us, and frozen foods to our right. It looks like Ollie's might've had a bit of a roof leak before I made my visit; I sure hope nobody goes home with a moldy rug!
Turning back toward the front of the store, we'll take a look down Publix's old aisle 13 which would have been home to frozen foods. Freezers would have encompassed both sides of the red columns and the bakery would have been off in the distance. Additionally, this coffin cooler would have been right in front of me.
It looks like Ollie's roughly lined their back shelves up with the edge of the terrazzo, signifying the back of the store. Originally, the seafood department would have been to my left and grocery aisles to my right.
Rugs and vacuums call the area surrounding Publix's old meat counter home.
No more Pub Subs here! The terrazzo turning toward the back of the store signifies the transition from Publix's old meat department to the old deli. The black refrigerator case in this picture used to call this spot of the store home.
While our view would have formerly been obstructed by shelves, we now have a clear view toward Publix's old dairy department. Ollie's also maintained a signature trait of older Publix stores: the raised ceiling over the grocery aisles. This formerly would have encompassed the area over aisles 3-10. Additionally, you can still zoom in and see some wood trim on the section of wall where the ceiling rises, leftover from this store's Wavy Pastels days.
That's right, "CHEAP!" is how I would describe the décor in this store! I still think it would have looked better if Ollie's had left Publix's walls and awnings in place, but I didn't get to make those decisions. It does, however, look like Publix formerly located their pharmacy counter here based on the scarring on the floor. We are current looking at the multipurpose nook in the front right corner of the store. As a reminder, I've seen this nook used for everything from chips and drinks, to floral, to a bank, to a place for the in-store pharmacy, to a Starbucks. Dairy would have been to my left.
Had this picture been taken seven years ago, I probably would have been arrested for forcing my way behind the pharmacy counter; however, the counter has since been removed. Now all we have to look at is a multiple-lifetime supply of Walmart-brand LED mirrors and various bed linens – which seem like much less lucrative commodities.
Now we'll get to one of the things that irks me the most about Ollie's remodel of the space: the butchered Publix faux skylight fixture! Had it been a real skylight, I could possibly understand why they would remove it because I hear those things are prone to leaks; however, this one was fake! If you need a refresher, here is a picture from #468 in Sandy Springs, GA.
Although Ollie's removed the actual light fixture, they managed to keep the original sloped roof which leads to windows from the second floor management offices. They also could have at least left Publix's Wavy Pastels awnings along the front wall of the store! I digress.
While I didn't get a picture of it (I'm not trying to be creepy here), somebody walked out of the family restroom we see here while I was waiting at the checkout line. Thankfully, Ollie's at least managed to keep Publix's old CM 2.5 green mosaic bathroom tiles in-tact. I do wonder if this restroom was original to 1994 because I've been to another Publix which opened almost a year later and only received a family restroom in 2022. I guess there is a good possibility it was added during the 2008 or 2012 remodel.
I didn't manage to photograph it, but Publix's old customer service counter was just to my right, and I believe they would have kept vending machines or carpet cleaning rentals in the space to the left of the restroom. The store's right vestibule is just beyond that nook (with another sliding door added by Ollie's).
Although much of the store had been gutted since Publix moved out, I managed to find one relic hanging on from this store's Wavy Pastels days. Whenever Publix added the pharmacy in 2008, I believe they moved their Presto ATM from the exterior wall of that nook to this window in the store's right vestibule. Due to this fact, some original Wavy Pastels tile was hidden away for future retail fans like me to observe. AFB's post on former Publix #408 showed us a different perspective of this same pattern.
Ever since I first visited this store, I was bothered with the mystery of how this one section of vintage tile remained while the rest of it was sanitized. It wasn't until I came across the auction collage showing the store's child carts when I realized Publix exposed the previously obscured tile following the 2012 remodel. This was all the evidence I needed to show that Publix went through the effort to scrape off most of the old tile as part of the 2012 remodel, which seems much more time consuming than leaving the old stainless steel plate or adding new vinyl stickers, like they have done with later Sienna or Evergreen remodels.
It seems that scraping old tiles and replacing them with white ones was a common practice used by Publix during the years surrounding 2010, because I have noticed this technique in several other stores. I'd imagine that these 15 tiles only managed to survive because electricians had already run the conduit for the ATM's electrical and internet service.
Our last look at the old store will showcase a sign I noticed on a light pole in the parking lot. It may not look like much, but it notifies the public that "Publix believes that its customers have the right to shop without interference from any source," and goes on to say that picketing, solicitation, distribution of materials, etc. is prohibited in or around the store (I wonder what legal grounds this holds). Even though Publix has been gone for over seven years, their legacy continues on an Pinetree Shopping Center.
New Store(s) Galore
Now that I've completed my dissertation on former Publix #476, let's take a jog down Pinetree Boulevard to its replacement: Publix #1498.
I managed to find a photo somebody took of a flyer explaining that Publix #476 would be replaced by Publix #1498 the next day. I do find it interesting how Publix managed to turn around a store so quickly, but I've heard that by the time the old store closes, the new store is already fully stocked and ready for customers. If that is the case, I wonder what Publix does with all of the perishables from the old store?
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| Publix #1498 Site Plan - Thomasville Times-Enterprise - May 6, 2014 |
The groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 8, 2014, with the new store having an expected outside completion date of August 15, 2015. I assume everything went according to schedule, based on this store's September 10 opening. According to an article from that day,
"The new Publix will offer a better variety of items and expanded organic and natural products, along with more variety in the deli and bakery. The store also will have a drive-through pharmacy.
The existing store is constrained by a lack of space, [Keith] Gilbert [Publix district manager] said, adding the new Publix will put a bigger footprint in the community.
The eight-plus-acre site also will have seven shops, each 1,400 square feet. Leases have been executed for three shop spaces by Nails by Chris, Great Clips and Osaka Hibachi & Sushi . . .
Don Sims, Thomasville City Council member and recently retired Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber of Commerce president, said Publix recognized growth in the Thomasville market.
Sims said Thomasville has 29 percent of the population and 50 percent of retails sales in a five-county area."
That last sentence is one I find particularly interesting. It seems as if Thomasville represents the local economic center for its region of Southwest Georgia, which probably contributed to Publix's reasoning for a new store.
Speaking of new stores, I did receive some gravy when I toured this location. As I was making my purchase, I asked the cashier if they knew when this store would be remodeled [to Evergreen]. While I only received a vague response of "probably in the next two years," they continued to say "after the new Publix is finished." After I heard this, I scoured the internet to see if I could find any additional information about this new store, only to turn up empty handed. While that doesn't necessarily mean the cashier was wrong (I doubt they could be misinformed about topics like a new store), that likely means Publix hasn't finished securing a lease for the new location in order to make this information public. They also mentioned that the new Publix would probably be somewhere near West Jackson Street on the South side of town. That bit of information led me to quickly make a trip to a different retail site, but that will be a story for another day. In the meantime, let's circle back to a Publix we know for a fact exists!
Publix #1498
Park Place
Thomasville, GA 31792
While they are certainly not unheard of, you don't seem to come across second-generation 54M stores that often because Publix seems to favor the slightly-smaller 45M format for most markets. That being said, I have shown you a different 54M-2 which happens to be one-year senior to this store. I just finished looking back over some Publix construction documents I found on archive.org and believe this could actually be a 54.6 or 54.7 prototype. While I know I have discovered a number of Publix prototypes in the 54,000 sq. ft. range (you can read about them here), I haven't noticed seven different versions!
Regardless, this store is some form of 54M, making it special for a town of close to 19,000 people to receive. I guess it does make more sense in the context of being the commercial center for 100,000-150,000 people, if you include the populations of Thomas, Grady, Brooks, Mitchell, and Colquitt Counties (although, Colquitt County received a 45M Publix in 2016).
With all of that background, let's take a look at a Sienna-built 54M-2 Publix! Welcome in, I'm sure you'll be green [bean] with envy that you didn't join me on my pleasurable shopping experience!
Although, the green beans aren't the only green things in this store (it is Publix after all). Turning to the left after we enter, we see some "Beijing Green" stone tile from Lakeland's-own Daltile, and a green apple behind the Publix insignia. Possibly one of the easiest ways I have found to date a Sienna installation is the presence or absence of this apple in front of the store, because I believe Publix discontinued the use of the motif during their 2016 Sienna refresh. I also believe this was the last newly-built store in Georgia to have received the apple, since none of the following four stores (#1256, #1542, #1540, & #1250) show the apple in any Google Pictures. Additionally, this seems to be the second-to-last Georgia Publix to have received a round customer service island, and the last Georgia Publix to have received the older-style checkout cubes! Now, I can't confidently make those claims because I have seen Publix swap out various fixtures for a mid-cycle refresh, but I have a hunch that they wouldn't bother doing this two-years into a store's life (the date of the oldest pictures I found of the other stores). I'd also like to note how #1250, which opened in December 2016, has already been Evergreen'd. Who knew a Granny Smith apple could create so much conversation!?!?
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that newer stores simply receive a circle P logo in place of the apple. I believe this has to do with Publix knowing they would replace their old 1970's rectangular logo, they just didn't know what to replace it with.
Instead of looking at a picture of a picture of an apple, let's take a look at a picture of apples! As we saw in #1427 (which I mentioned before), the floral section is conveniently placed directly in front of the entrance to the store, signaling customers in the direction of the grand aisle.
To the right of the door, 54M-2 stores feature a similar "multipurpose nook" to the old 42N and 49N stores. While #1498 happens to use this space for greeting cards, I have also seen it feature a dining area, a café, and I believe even an in-store bank branch.
Next to the nook, in the front right corner of the store, we find the bakery. According to documents I've found online, this store received a premium version of Sienna due to the presence of the mosaic tiles on the bakery wall.
I can just smell the sweet smell of cake wafting through my screen!
Taking a look back at the ground we have covered, we see the placement of the floral department, customer service island, and greeting card nook in relation to the grand aisle.
Now we'll take a look at the deli, from the perspective of the apple aisle. While this store didn't receive a specialty cheese counter, it did have a large array of cheeses on display in a cooler separating produce from the deli.
As I've mentioned previously, it is hard to shop at Publix and not think about getting a Pub Sub! Something that I have noticed during my time waiting on the deli is how roughly 2015 and older Sienna installations received these stainless steel inserts in the backsplash, while newer stores did not.
I do like how the grand aisle in these stores feels particularly "grand" – the curved "produce" sign only adds to this effect.
Something interesting I came across during my visit was this Classy Market 1.0-style tertiary sign next to the carrots. I have no idea how a sign like this made it into a store that opened in 2015, and my only guess is that somebody decided to take it from #476 when it closed. Regardless, I'm glad it has survived!
We'll take one last look at the bakery from the produce department before we move on to the rest of the store.
Most would look at this picture and see a temporary chip display, but I see signs that the Aprons meal demonstration station used to be here! I believe Publix removed these from most stores in 2021, and several employees on the Publix subreddit seem to be happy about that.
Although, I would bet Aprons employees in this store were a bit more cheerful, because who wouldn't want to be stationed next to a massive wine department?!?!
At this point, I feel like I have decoded most of the stock photos Publix used in Sienna; however, this one is still a mystery to me. Is it of some blurry grapes? Is it of some drops of red wine? Is it the shadow of a wine glass? Who knows!
We'll take one last look at the wine department's ring sign before we move on down the rear actionway of the store. While I didn't manage to photograph it, this store also had a self-service olive bar between wine and the deli.
Next up are the seafood and meat counters. While the stainless steel tiles in the deli and the apple up front tell us this store was built during the first-half of Sienna's life as a package, the blue tile in the seafood department indicate it wasn't a super early store; otherwise, it would have received these reddish-brown tiles.
Next to the meat counter is where customers can find some Apron's meal kits.
I haven't seen this tile pattern in many stores, but I think it is cool how the one for Meats reminds me of striated muscle tissue (like your big, juicy steak).
As we can see, aisle 1 is home to an assortment of sweet items, like fruit juice, dried fruits, canned fruits, and candy.
Most of this store's other dry goods are found on aisles 2-6, such as baking supplies, canned goods, crackers, etc. Meanwhile, chips and beer are on aisle 7, and frozen products are on aisles 8 & 9.
Although Sienna stores didn't receive the historic Publix photo collage, this store still managed to get an old picture of Mr. George bagging groceries over its coffin cooler. That must have been a thing for Publix around 2014-2015, because #1427 received the same treatment.
This week's Fun Fried Featured {Famous} Frozen Product is a 3-pound bag of "Famous Seasoned Fries." Our Apologies, but that is a lot of French fries!
Heading over toward the back left corner of the store, we see the dairy section, along with the signs for aisles 13-15.
Speaking of aisle 13, it is where you can find cleaning supplies and take in the view of the pharmacy's orchid picture off in the distance.
Aisle 14 offers customers a number of health and beauty products, and it is also the first aisle on the left side of the store to not have a section of dropped ceiling above it.
Finally, aisle 15 offers shoppers the opportunity to pick up dairy items, bread, jelly, and cosmetics. I don't think I would want all of those items on my sandwich!
Taking a closer look at the pharmacy, we see the Nile Green Vogue Bay tile surrounding the soffit, which I believe gives it a nice look.
Before we checkout, we'll take a few overlooks of the front speedway of the store.
This location received 11 checkout lines in total, which seems like a lot for a modern Publix to have. Additionally, this store has yet to receive any self-checkout stations and still has its original checkout cube lights. I'm sure it won't be long before that changes.
And that will wrap up or tour of the Thomasville #6 Sing Store and both of Thomasville's Publixes. Check back next time to see what adventures I find next!
- The Sing Oil Blogger.
