New Publix in Key Largo promises more food, pharmacy resources in area with limited options

The opening day of a new grocery store might be a mundane event in some communities, but in the Florida Keys, it draws crowds. Big crowds.

A new Publix Super Market opened its doors to hundreds of eager customers Thursday morning.

The new store sits just across the parking lot from the former Publix that serviced the area, but this one offers expanded services and wider food selections. The old Publix was in service until the day before the new store's opening.

The Florida Keys is an area with limited grocery store options, so to many, this is a huge deal. The nearest grocery stores to this new Publix are a Winn Dixie 4.2 miles north or another one 10 miles south, in the next town over.

“We're a small town, so anytime you have something new of this scale is a big deal,” said County Mayor Holly Raschein. “They've got all the bells and whistles.”

Part of The Florida Keys, namely the area just south of Marathon, is considered a “food desert,” according to United States Department of Agriculture “low income and low access” data.

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Graphic showing USDA "Low Income and Low Access" areas, or food deserts, across South Florida based on data from 2019. Food deserts are characterized by limited access to healthy food because of a lack of food store resources. These areas specifically are absent of a food store within 1 mile in urban areas and absent of one within 20 miles in rural areas.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Access Research Atlas (FARA)

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Graphic showing the area near Marathon considered by the USDA a "Low Income and Low Access" area, also known as a food desert. This area is characterized by a lack of food stores including super centers, supermarkets, and large grocery stores.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Access Research Atlas (FARA)

Food deserts are areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food. They’re categorized by a lack of supercenters, supermarkets and large grocery stores.

READ MORE: "Grow, feed and learn: FAMU unveils community garden in West Palm Beach food desert"

“A lot of people think about the Keys as ‘we don’t have those issues.' We actually do,” said Raschein. “Our geography is a challenge. Our cost of living is a challenge and traffic is a challenge. And we want to make sure that the folks that need good nutritional food that's available to them.”

The Publix, inside the Tradewinds Plaza in Key Largo, offers features that weren’t available in the old store including self-checkout areas and a full-service pharmacy.

“At our other one, the pharmacy was always backed up,” said Amy Bruggeman, a longtime Key Largo resident. “It's the Keys. We don't have a lot of places and a lot of choices and Publix stepped up and delivered this big, beautiful store.”

Customers like Bruggeman are excited about the extra space and resources that the new store brings.

“It's a giant Publix where our Publix before was kind of tiny and this just brings our community so much goodwill,” Bruggeman said.