If you live in Florida, you likely know that Publix has a cult following here. The obsession with Publix has now spread to seven other southeastern states, with more than 1,400 locations of the Florida-based grocery store across the U.S. And for many Publix fans, the love affair lies in the sweet treats and cakes that come from the store’s iconic bakery.
Earlier this month, USA TODAY released its 10Best lists of the best grocery stores, grocery store bakeries and delis and grocery store rewards clubs in the U.S. Publix made the cut, landing on six of these lists, including the list for the top 10 best grocery store bakeries.
Here’s a little bit about Publix, its roots in Florida and where it ranked on USA TODAY’s list of the best grocery store bakeries in the U.S.
America’s favorite grocery store bakeries: Publix ranks among USA TODAY’s 10Best
USA TODAY’s 10Best lists are determined by a panel of experts who nominate their top picks, and are then voted on by readers.
On Sept. 10, USA TODAY released its 10Best lists of the best butcher shops, grocery stores, grocery store bakeries, delis, produce, prepared food, international food markets and loyalty programs.
Publix ranked in the top 10 on six of those lists, including the list for the best grocery store bakeries.
“Publix bakeries are an excellent choice for their dozens of scratch-made breads baked right in the store, such as the Italian Tutto Pugliese,” the 10Best list says.
“They also do bakery platters with a selection of petit fours, pastries, and cookies, in case you need to satisfy a crowd. Especially popular are their cakes, which can even be purchased by the slice in select flavors.”
Here’s USA TODAY’s list of the 10Best grocery store bakeries in the U.S.:
What day of the week does Publix change their BOGO sales?
Most Publix shoppers love those chances at the buy-one-get-one-free deals that the store runs weekly. But since the store selects which items are BOGO, you might walk in hoping to score a BOGO on some pantry staples and find that all the deals are bakery items and snacks.
There is one trick that might help you make the most of Publix’s weekly deals. According to the store’s website, deals that are effective from Wednesday through the next Tuesday are posted at midnight on Wednesdays and deals that are effective from Thursday through the next Wednesday are posted at midnight every Thursday.
If you go to Publix’s website and click on the “savings” drop-down menu, you’ll see options to select “weekly ad” and “BOGO” deals, both pages will direct you to enter in your store’s location to show you the deals available at your Publix.
This makes Wednesday or Thursday the best day to shop BOGO deals at Publix, depending on what ad cycle your closest store is on.
If your Publix store is on the Wednesday through Tuesday deal cycle, you can shop the deals that were just posted that morning and you might even score some leftover deals from the week before. If your Publix is on the Thursday through Wednesday deal cycle, you can do the same on a Thursday.
You could also shop the last day of each week’s BOGO sales and drop by the customer service desk on your way out to see if they’ll tell you what next week’s deals are the night before they go into effect and plan a return trip to really get the goodie out of the BOGO section.
When does Publix open? Do all Publix locations open at the same time?
Most Publix stores open at 7 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. Some Publix stores close at 9 p.m. regularly, but not many. Publix Liquors stores open at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m., depending on the location.
Who founded Publix?
Publix was founded in 1930 in Winter Haven, Florida, by George W. Jenkins. Publix is the largest employee-owned company in the U.S., allowing its more than 260,000 employees to buy stock in the company. Publix is based out of Lakeland, Florida.
The Jenkins family, who built and partly own Publix Super Markets, is ranked as the 39th richest family in America on Forbes’ list of America’s richest families. The Jenkins family is worth around $11.2 billion, according to Forbes.
Here are five things to know about the Jenkins family:
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: What’s the best grocery store bakery in America? Publix ranks among top 10 on this list
Reporting by Lianna Norman, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
