LAKELAND – Heather Hoagland stated because the automated doorways slid shut at Publix, she’s seen a drop in clients in her full-service hair salon.
When the Publix at Lake Miriam Sq. closed for demolition and a rebuild on July 6, a number of the plaza’s enterprise homeowners and managers turned involved about enterprise slowdowns due to the discount of visitors.
Hoagland, the owner-stylist at Lake Miriam Plaza’s Glam Shade Bar, 4746 S. Florida Ave., stated she’s seen a drop-off in purchasers because the non permanent closing. She stated since her salon is an in-store service enterprise, she doesn’t have on-line gross sales on which to rely.
Hoagland stated she’s grateful for her regulars and hopes enterprise within the 3,000-square-foot Glam Shade Bar, which has been within the Lake Miriam Plaza for eight years, will decide again up quickly.
“It’s dangerous. I’ve tried to speak to Publix about it, and so they don’t suppose will probably be an issue. It’s been lifeless since they began that development and earlier than they closed the shop,” Hoagland stated.
Lower than a yr after Publix Super Markets completed work on the demolition and rebuilding of its Oakbridge Centre store on Harden Boulevard, an identical rebuild on the Lake Miriam Sq. retailer a lower than three miles away obtained underway.
Rebuilding is anticipated to take a few yr. By summer time 2025, future clients will enter an all-new bigger grocery store.
By e mail, Maria Brous, Publix director of communications, stated Publix offered info to tenants from advertising and marketing supplies working on social media alerting the neighborhood that the Publix at Lake Miriam is closed, though tenants remained open. She wrote that after facade indicators are eliminated, tenant banners shall be used to indicate tenants are nonetheless open and working.
“Our tenants are in communication with our property administration and tenant relations crew, and our clients will proceed to see our communications relating to the middle. We’re taking an identical strategy as we did with our Oakbridge procuring middle,” Brous stated.
However whereas vehicle and foot visitors has decreased, a number of the plaza’s enterprise homeowners stated enterprise goes on.
Abd Qoran owns Lakeland SoFresh, a restaurant́ promoting sizzling bowls, salads, wraps, smoothies and recent juice at 4756 S. Florida Ave., about 4 shops south of the Publix. He opened the café in January 2021 and stated he had some preliminary enterprise slowdown in his café, however he depends totally on on-line ordering.
“They order on-line, store, come get their meals and go house,” he stated. “Numerous our enterprise is on-line, in order that does properly.”
Qoran stated stop-in foot visitors has decreased, and to offset that, he started a “children eat free” marketing campaign, which he plans to keep up indefinitely for youngsters 12 and youthful. He’s additionally printing extra hardcopy coupons to maintain people coming in.
“The enterprise on-line has been good, it’s simply the foot visitors as slowed down, so I’m making particular offers,” he stated.
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Justin “Murph” Murphy, the supervisor at Kirkland’s Barber Store, 4816 S. Florida Ave., stated the Publix transforming hasn’t a lot affected his common of 12 to 14 haircuts per day.
“I don’t suppose it’s actually an excessive amount of of an affect, perhaps a bit with our walk-ins, however with our regulars, we’ll be nice. The development for us hasn’t deterred individuals from coming to see us,” he stated.
The Lake Miriam Plaza Publix was initially constructed in 1978 and was final transformed in the summertime of 2014. That yr, Publix supermarkets included parts from “hybrid” Publix shops – a mix of conventional Publix markets with the grocery store’s Greenwise Market places, with a deal with pure and natural meals.
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Earlier than the newest rebuild began, a number of the adjoining areas subsequent to the Publix have been shuttered. The Publix Aprons Cooking Faculty, adjoining to the principle retailer, closed in mid-2023 because the Lakeland-based grocery store chain ended its cooking college program.
The Lakeland public library annex and Grapevine Liquors additionally vacated their items close to the Publix to maneuver elsewhere. The library moved to the Kelly Recreation Middle, and Grapevine moved to the Retailers Stroll procuring middle, a few mile and a half north on South Florida Avenue.
Though the principle retailer is closed, the Publix pharmacy moved two doorways down and is open at 4738 S. Florida Ave.
However common Lake Miriam Publix buyers might need to journey a bit to discover a retailer of comparable measurement. The chain’s Greenwise retailer has been transformed to a standard Publix, nevertheless it’s considerably smaller than different shops. The Oakbridge retailer is 2.5 miles away from Lake Miriam. The Publix at Southgate is 2.8 miles. Nation Highway 540A retailer is 4 miles; the Shepherd Highway retailer is 4.1; County Line Highway 6.4 miles.
