What's the big deal with Publix anyway?

It probably sounds a bit odd, but I was excited to shop at Publix when I found out I was moving South. I had heard so much about it! All my Southern friends in D.C. were always like, "Oh I miss Publix so much!" "Publix is my favorite grocery store, I go every time I'm home." etc. etc. I really expected it to be like Wegmans of the South. 

Beautiful Wegmans

Have you been to Wegmans? It's like the mecca of supermarkets. My old roommate in NoVA and I used to drive a half hour just to do our grocery shopping at Wegmans. It has literally everything you could want-- food, pharmacy, huge hair and cosmetics section, tons of take-out and eat-in food, a candy aisle to bring out the kid in all of us, a giant cheese section, a florist, a bakery-- I could go on and on. Buzzfeed did a great job rounding up the top 25 reasons why Wegmans is the best supermarket in the world. And it is. 
 


That being said, I was ready for Publix to turn me, I was ready to be in awe of the Southern grocery chain. But when I walked into Publix on my first food shopping trip, it was like, "whomp whomp." It's a supermarket. That's it. It's sorta like a decent Pennsylvania Giant. There's no mood lighting like Wegmans. It's set up backwards with the produce on the wrong side. Also, the produce aisle seems oddly small to me. Do Southerners use more canned or frozen vegetables? Or just less in general? Anyways, I've been to a couple different Publix because there is one every half mile, and they all seem the same to me. So what's the big deal?

Don't get me wrong. I can get most of what I want and need there. And it does have some pluses including: decently priced food and no club card, good ready-made food and drinks (lemonade, iced tea, potato salad, spinach artichoke dip, etc.) and the famous pub-sub. 

I think I had my hopes too high. Once you've shopped at a Wegmans, nothing else will meet those standards. Publix is a good grocery store, the staff at mine down the street are crazy nice and I'll definitely keep shopping there and indulging in a sub and lemonade on occasion. 


A final note: As a Pennsylvania native, a hoagie, as we like to call it, is a dietary staple. My favorite when I am up North I get from Wawa. That's right, I fill my tank and my stomach in the same place. Wawa makes a mean hoagie. It took me years of living in the D.C. area to find a decent hoagie. I have to give it to Publix, their subs fulfill my inner hoagie desire and make me miss home just a little bit less. If anyone can recommend a place that makes real New York pizza in the Atlanta-metro area, I'll be forever grateful (after I taste it and make sure it's authentic).