LONGBOAT KEY – A different kind of Publix Super Market — and one of the first of its kind in the state debuted Thursday after eight months of renovations.
The 49,000-square-foot Publix, at 525 Bay Isles Parkway on Longboat Key, will feature an array of prepared, organic and specialty items and be a prototype for some future stores, officials with the Lakeland-based chain said.
In addition to its different food offerings, the newly renovated store will have displays that will be unique to Publix locations in the Sarasota area and that use more elegant fixtures than are found in many stores, said Shannon Patten, a Publix spokeswoman. The store also will provide a free Wifi Internet connection and indoor and outdoor dining areas.
The grocery store, which had been closed since April, will open to the public at 8 a.m. Thursday. As part of the redevelopment, the entire Avenue of the Flowers plaza was razed, and a new façade put on the Publix.
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