There goes my good Monday: Publix is buying out 49 Tampa Bay area Albertson's stores!
I don't know where your grocery loyalties lie, but this does not bode well for me.
After several months of trying out different grocery stores since I moved here, Albertson's was an easy choice. In my humble opinion, for the quality of their meat and veggies, they seem to have the best prices. Now Publix, which I find to be fairly expensive, plans to buy out Albertson's in September. What's more: They're buying locations that are already near various Publix stores. My local Albertson's on 4th Street in St. Pete is across the street from a Publix.
Now, I'll be forced to go to Sweetbay, who I am not at all happy with ever since the company allowed identity theives to steal over 4 million credit and debit card numbers. I had fun dealing with that little security breach when my bank unexpectedly canceled my debit and credit cards after Sweetbay notified them (but not me) that my information was stolen. All this, while I was on vacation.
Anybody else bothered by Publix's plans?
(Photo Credit: hyku)
This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2008.