Located in a safe part of town, smack dab in the center of Daniels Islan, Publix can cater to and elevate most of your grocery needs. I must admit as a former chef then afterwards living in Kansas City and Austin TX for 25 years and frequenting large grocery stores with almost all of the things I've needed under one roof; I've been very disappointed with almost all the grocery stores here. Currently I'd rank Publix tied for second best in the greater Charleston area.
Lets start with the food service area. I recall my love for their Boar's Head roast beef sandwiches, they were phenomenal! So, when I moved back I made it a priority, big mistake. The veggies were a bit older and the bread very hard. The meat was ok but overall it was lacking. The fried chicken was extremely salty while the "home fries" were cold. Also, the baked chicken as of 11am seemed to be sitting for a LONG time. I understand this is hard to gage but just reporting. I believe a better selection would have been nice.
As for the bakery, some of their products are suspect. For instance, the cream cheese Danish had a funky flavor while the "fresh made" CC cookies were extremely dry. Next their selection of cakes and/or pies is limited as well. Moving into the meat selection, I was expecting more. Their options for ribeye were disappointing to say the least. I'm talking about in the display case, not from the butcher. Now I will say the butcher was extremely nice when I wanted some Osso Bucco, even taking some out the freezer and cutting it for me! Customer service is important to them.
Publix is also pretty far behind on seasonal or promotional products. So, if you like the "monster cereals" like Booberry, I'm still waiting for it while 2 other chains already have it. New Dorito chips and Mt Dew flavors face the same challenges. That said they do have a good display for suggestive sales and the shelves are well stocked.
As for the produce, they have a somewhat large and diverse selection. The mushroom selection is sparse. Want to pick up some woodear, loose shiitake, Oyster, Enoki, etc? Not here my dear, although they do have shitake packaged. I've hunted for exotic fruits such as dragon fruit, Buddha's hand, Star fruit etc but they don't carry it. Otherwise they carry the standard fair which is more in bulk than variety.
My overall assessment of Publix is it works well for it's target group, middle class SC families looking for good prices on food that is pretty standard with having some "elegances" spread out enough to allow those who are adventurous to try something new. The shelves are well stocked, the environment clean and safe, and house made items such as breads, tortillas, soups, etc are decent. Publix is a good grocery store for the masses. read more