Publix closes Wellington store with plans to demolish it, build bigger, sleeker supermarket

Valentina Palm, Palm Beach Post
·4 min read

WELLINGTON — The Publix at the Courtyard Shops on Saturday sold its last bags of groceries for at least a year and a half.

The Lakeland-based chain will demolish its 32-year-old location on the southeast corner of Greenview Shores Boulevard and Wellington Trace and rebuild it into a bigger and more modern store.

The move comes just two days after Publix opened a new store in The Crossroads shopping plaza in Royal Palm Beach on the site of an older store it tore down. That project took about 20 months to complete.

The new Publix will be about 9,000 square feet larger than the one it is replacing and feature a new storefront, wider shopping aisles and a Publix Liquors store next door, according to plans before Wellington officials.

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The renovation is part of Publix Super Markets' efforts to revamp older locations and expand in Palm Beach County's western communities. Another store is already under construction in the village to replace The Fresh Market on Forest Hill Boulevard, near the Mall at Wellington Green. Last month, it opened its first store in Westlake.

The store at the Town Square at Wellington shopping center at Forrest Hill and South Shore boulevards will remain open.

An old-fashioned scale on which people can stand and weigh themselves greets visitors at the entrance to the Publix store at 13880 Wellington Trace, on the southeast corner of Greenview Shores Boulevard and Wellington Trace. The store will close Saturday, July 8, 2023, for crews to demolish the building and expand the store's footprint in the Courtyard Shops plaza.

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Built in 1991, the village's Courtyard Shops shopping plaza has only been renovated once, in 2009. The 50,000-square-foot Publix store is one of the original anchors of the commercial center.

Documents submitted to the village say Publix aims to "transform the outdated building into an attractive and vibrant shopping center.”

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Publix will demolish two adjacent tenants as well as the current market to make way for the bigger store. Village staff said it would be at least 18 months before shoppers can return to the store.

New features will include upgrades similar to the ones made to the newly unveiled Publix at The Crossings in Royal Palm Beach. Besides wider aisles, the new store will have brick columns and a window-covered facade with brick columns.

The new store in Royal Palm Beach also includes a "Bakery Of The Future," expanded areas for fruits and produce, international foods and the pharmacy, as well as a seating area where guests can eat pastries, prepared foods and grab-and-go items.

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One thing the new Wellington store likely won't have: an old-fashioned scale on which shoppers can stand and weigh themselves, long a feature at Publix outlets.

The grocer has stopped installing the scales in its newer properties because it can't always repair them when they break. Replacement parts are rare in the digital age.

It's also not clear what will happen to the store's signature mosaic of a golfer, which greeted people as they walked into the market.

A grand mosaic graces in the entrance to the Publix store at 13880 Wellington Trace, on the southeast corner of Greenview Shores Boulevard and Wellington Trace recently in Wellington. The store closed Saturday, July 8, 2023, for crews to demolish the building and expand the store's footprint in the Courtyard Shops plaza.
A grand mosaic graces in the entrance to the Publix store at 13880 Wellington Trace, on the southeast corner of Greenview Shores Boulevard and Wellington Trace recently in Wellington. The store closed Saturday, July 8, 2023, for crews to demolish the building and expand the store's footprint in the Courtyard Shops plaza.

Fresh Market store near mall soon to become another Publix

Another Publix store is getting ready to sprout in the village.

Construction of another Publix shopping center in the village is already underway to replace The Fresh Market on the southwest corner of Forest Hill Boulevard and State Road 7. The existing structure was built in 2006 and hasn't had major modifications since.

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Publix will expand the store to 38,539 square feet from 21,397 by taking over the space of the two adjacent tenants and adding space to the rear of the building.

It will feature higher ceilings, an open floor plan to remove its column-driven design and an updated color scheme of white and shades of earthy browns, faint yellows, light green and blue.

The village staff said the store is expected to open next year.

Publix invests in the western suburbs of Palm Beach County

In recent years, the Lakeland-based company has focused on growing its presence in the western suburbs of Palm Beach County.

Besides the Royal Palm Beach store, it opened its Westlake store on June 8, maing it the chain's westernmost location in Palm Beach County.

In addition to that 48,388 square-feet store, Publix also purchased its surrounding 20 acres to develop the an outdoor shopping plaza in Westlake,

Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Loxahatchee and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on Twitter at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Publix to build bigger, modern market at site of closed Wellington store