Publix Bakeries Used To Be Located Outside Of The Store

Today, much like any other supermarket where you might shop for freshly made bread, cakes, cookies, and pies, Publix bakeries are conveniently located on the premises. However, that wasn't always the case. As it turns out, Publix bakeries used to be situated outside of the store.

The 1940s were formative years for Publix as a grocery store. At that time, Publix only supplied a few in-house bakery products. Its regular offerings of baked goods began as a collaboration between Publix and a local bakery. Around 1950, the company reached an agreement with Lundy's Bakery in Lakeland, Florida (where Publix is headquartered) to provide its stores with a variety of desserts and pastries on a daily basis. Emmett Lundy, the owner of Lundy's Bakery, retired the following year. That prompted Publix founder George Jenkins to buy the bakery so that he could maintain daily deliveries of baked goods to Publix stores. Jenkins' eventual goal was to move the bakeries inside Publix itself but that didn't happen immediately.

Beginning in 1957, Publix established the first of what would soon become many Publix Danish Bakery stores. The inaugural Publix Danish Bakery was launched in Lakeland in a shopping center adjacent to the Publix grocery store. On Publix's Facebook page, people who still remember the Danish bakeries wax nostalgic about them. They reminisce about the entrance through which the enticing smells of pastries and freshly baked bread wafted to your nose before you even opened the door. Others recollected the impressive bakery displays exhibited on either side of the entrance. A number of individuals who had been to a Danish Bakery recall it being better than the current in-store bakeries.

Not long thereafter, the bakeries were transitioned into Publix's grocery stores for shoppers' convenience. Those became the bakery departments that are still around today. By the 1970s, the number of bakeries found inside Publix locations had essentially matched the number of Publix grocery stores. With its growing bakery presence, Publix also built a bakery plant in Lakeland in 1972 to help supply baked goods. If our list of the seven best and six worst grocery store bakeries is any indication, Publix bakeries are a popular choice, particularly if you have a hankering for pumpkin pie or need a specialty cake made. Luckily for them, shoppers don't have to visit separate stores to get their custom confections.