Publix Testing Concepts

Publix Super Markets Inc. (Lakeland, Fla.) has been testing a number of innovative concepts in its home state, including curbside carry-out service for deli items in a Fort Myers, Fla., store and a Carrabba's Italian Market right inside a location in Sarasota, Fla.

According to Drug Store News magazine, customers phone in orders, park in designated spaces and submit their payment to an employee, as with curbside carryout services offer4ed by a number of restaurants. The supermarket chain says it currently has no plans to expand the program.

The Carrabba’s offers a wood-burning pizza oven and seating for customers. Carrabba’s is a nationwide chain owned by OSI Restaurant Partners Inc. (Tampa). This is the first venture of its kind for either chain.

Other ideas in the retailer’s test phase include a deli at a store in Lake Mary, Fla., that features stations for Asian and Mediterranean cuisine and other specialty foods; and an upcoming launch of a meal-assembly concept at sites in Jacksonville and Lithia, Fla., in which customers register for sessions and prepare meals using ingredients and recipes supplied by Publix.