When Celebration Florida was originally conceived, the downtown area was to be central shopping district for its residents. It started out that way too. But one by one the shops gave way to more touristy fare and residents were forced to leave their enclave to go marketing.
Yes, there was that episode with Gooding’s at the water tower plaza, but that didn’t work for a number of reasons. One of those reasons was the nearby Publix. It offered more variety as lower prices.
After Gooding’s closed, many hoped that Publix would move into that space. Its taken a long time, but it has finally happened. The store built a brand new building at the water tower shopping center and opened earlier this month.
If course, I ducked in to have a look around.
The store featured everything you expect at a Publix and a few additional items that are more likely to be found at, say, a Whole Foods, just in a more compact form.
The gourmet cheese bar neighbors a wine bar. There is a hot foods counter in addition to the usual sandwich station. There is even a counter dedicated to helping one plan events.
All in all this is a great addition to Celebration. It should be used by residents and tourists alike. Yes, it’s a little more expensive than other Publix locations, but not outrageously so. Really my only complaint is the parking. They need to add about 50 more spots.
Update: Changed story name from Goodie’s to Goodings on 12/11/12 to reflect accuracy. 🙂
Pingback: Outside the Birm – News from Beyond Disney via THRLLD | The Disney Blog
the store was a goodings, not “goodie’s”… goodie’s is the crummy knockoff across 192.
Good catch. That explains why my google search seemed off.