{"id":225433,"date":"2026-04-09T21:50:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/225433\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T21:50:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:50:15","slug":"publix-scales-fading-florida-grocery-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/225433\/","title":{"rendered":"Publix scales: Fading Florida grocery tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Bonaby has a mission when he goes to the supermarket. And it\u2019s not necessarily the BOGOs in the aisles or the new products on the shelves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I want to weigh myself, I just go to Publix,\u201d the 61-year-old shopper said as he clutched two plastic bags of groceries near the front of the Monza Avenue store in Coral Gables on a recent weekday afternoon.<\/p>\n

This is where something as familiar as the green in the store\u2019s logo looms large \u2014 the scale. Especially for a generation that came of age shopping with their parents at Florida\u2019s largest grocer.<\/p>\n

Back then, in every Publix, shoppers would find an oversized green scale proudly perched by the door of every store. Founder George Jenkins placed his \u201cpeople weighers\u201d in the front of his stores nearly 100 years ago, in 1930.<\/p>\n

But now, the days are numbered for those signature scales.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe manufacturer ceased production in 2015, meaning that one day \u2014 although our wonderful repair shop keeps our remaining machines in great shape \u2014 the last Publix scale will retire,\u201d said Publix spokeswoman Lindsey Willis.<\/p>\n

PHOTOS: See the supermarket in the days before Pub Subs and BOGOs<\/a><\/p>\n

New Publix stores<\/a> are opening at a fast clip \u2014 a block-sized Publix made its debut at Riviera Plaza across the street from the 60-year-old Monza store last fall, for instance. A Fort Lauderdale area store is on the way soon. The 40-year-old Palms at Town & Country Publix<\/a> was closed in January for the rebuilding of a larger, more modern store. Same deal for the Doral Park Publix<\/a> on 41st Street.<\/p>\n

The sprawling Riviera Publix doesn\u2019t have a scale. Most of the other new stores won\u2019t have one either.<\/p>\n

A scale that sat inside the vestibule of the Pinecrest Publix on South Dixie Highway since opening in 2012 was recently removed for repair. That one is coming back soon, Willis said.<\/p>\n

A scale remains inside the Publix at the 1970s-era Kendall Mall on a busy intersection down the block from Miami Dade College. A couple giggling teens popped on and off that scale recently, pleased, apparently, by the reading.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just one of those things. It\u2019s a tradition,\u201d Bonaby, 61, said, as he stepped off the scale\u2019s base at the Monza store that registered his weight. He smiled. 227. \u201cMy weight is normally 231,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Publix Publix customer John Bonaby loves Publix scales and hopes they remain. \u201cIf I want to weigh myself, I just go to Publix,\u201d he said, smiling next to the scale at the old Coral Gables Publix at 1401 Monza Avenue on April 1, 2026. Howard Cohen hcohen@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Bonaby ventured a ways to get here, driving by dozens of Publix stores, some with scales, some not. He was about 35 miles from his Fort Lauderdale home after a job paving a customer\u2019s driveway in Coral Gables.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo things I do: if I need to use a bathroom, anywhere, I find the nearest Publix. And if I want to weigh, I go to Publix. Or if I want to check my blood pressure. These are very important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Most Publix stores also have blood pressure machines near the pharmacy. They can also record your weight.<\/p>\n

The traditional scales, however, \u201care very important,\u201d Bonaby said. \u201cI trust the scale in Publix. So they move those, a lot of people are going to be kind of lost. It\u2019s convenient. I have a scale at my house and my kids take it. I have it in my bathroom. They take it and they put it in their bathroom. And by times I go to use it, the battery is dead or whatever. So I just come to Publix.\u201d<\/p>\n

How the Publix scales got their start \"The The first Publix scale, in the back to the right, at a Publix Super Market in Winter Haven, Florida, circa 1930. Courtesy Publix <\/p>\n

When George Jenkins founded Publix in 1930 with his first store in Winter Haven, Florida, he embarked on setting his fledgling chain apart from the competition. Among Publix\u2019s early features: air conditioning and automatic doors.<\/p>\n

Jenkins\u2019 \u201cpeople weighers\u201d predated the Pub Sub by 62 years. The chain\u2019s signature submarine sandwich debuted at a Georgia Publix in 1992. Jenkins, who never left Publix, died four years later, in April 1996, at 88.<\/p>\n

During Publix\u2019s early days, scales were popular in shopping areas. Customers would slip a coin into a slot, a penny, later a nickel or more, to find out their weight. Similar scales, smaller, more narrow, usually red, would remain well into the 1970s inside supermarkets and five-and-dimes like Woolworth. Publix scales have always been free for people.<\/p>\n

The towering scale originally stood in the back of Publix stores. They were moved to the front for convenience, and that\u2019s where customers can continue to find them \u2014 for now.<\/p>\n

\"In In this file photo from Oct. 12, 2004, customers wait outside the Publix supermarket in the 183 block of Pines Boulevard in Pembroke Pines, for flu shots. Walter Michot Miami Herald file <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen scales are taken out of a store, they go for a spruce-up in our repair shop. They could wind up going to another store or they may be held for parts to utilize in other scales,\u201d Publix spokeswoman Willis said.<\/p>\n

People notice when they are there \u2014 or not. A former Miami Herald columnist gave a tribute to the ubiquitous scale.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Hubby claims I\u2019m obsessed with scales. Digital scales and mechanical ones. Scales you find at Publix and the fancy physician scales with the height rod,\u201d Ana Veciana Suarez wrote in 2012.<\/p>\n

People only, please<\/p>\n

Publix scales have been popular \u2014 about five million customers weighed in during the first year of the supermarket\u2019s operation. Eventually they grew too popular, sometimes to Publix\u2019s chagrin.<\/p>\n

\"In In this file photo from June 22, 2001, a customer weighed a small bag of clothing at a Publix at 13890 SW 56th St. She planned to send the clothes to Cuba with someone who was traveling there. It weighed five pounds. Airlines were cracking down on weight restrictions. Publix considered removing the scales from Miami-area stores at the time as heavy baggage was damaging them. MARICE COHN BAND Miami Herald file <\/p>\n

At the turn of the millennium, when increased weight-limit fees on airlines and a summer ban of excess baggage by some carriers, Miami\u2019s seasoned travelers weighed their luggage on Publix scales before checking in at the airport, the Miami Herald reported in 2001.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody knows that\u2019s where you go to weigh your luggage,\u201d customer Susana Martin said at the time. \u201cThey have the scale right by the door. I do it all the time and I\u2019ve never had a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a problem. Apparently, people were sending clothing and goods home to relatives and could find out if their stuffed, bulky bags were under, or over, the airlines\u2019 weight limit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re frustrated. The scales are for people, not for suitcases. They were made to be stepped on gently. When people toss heavy bags on them, they break them,\u201d said Carmen Millares, who was then the community affairs manager for Publix\u2019s Miami division.<\/p>\n

Scales were constantly breaking. Repair costs soared. And Publix considered putting up signs prohibiting weighing luggage and threatened to take the scales out of Miami-Dade stores.<\/p>\n

Customers got the message.<\/p>\n

Then in 2015, the scale manufacturing stopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to see them stay,\u201d Bonaby said as he strolled to his car in the Monza Avenue parking lot where, within view, the new scale-less Riviera Publix loomed. \u201cI\u2019m sure a lot of other people would, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Publix Publix customer John Bonaby weighs himself on the scale at 1401 Monza Avenue on April 1, 2026. \u201cIt\u2019s convenient,\u201d he said. Howard Cohen hcohen@miamiherald.com \"A A Publix scale in the vestibule of the store at the 1970s-era Kendall Mall at 9041 SW 107th Ave. on April 4, 2026. Older stores still have the scales. But manufacturing stopped in 2015 and once the remaining scales can no longer be repaired there will come a day when they are history, Publix says. Howard Cohen hcohen@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Howard Cohen<\/a><\/p>\n

Miami Herald<\/p>\n

Miami Herald consumer trends reporter Howard Cohen, a 2017 Media Excellence Awards winner, has covered pop music, theater, health and fitness, obituaries, municipal government, breaking news and general assignment. He started his career in the Features department at the Miami Herald in 1991. Cohen is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Communication.
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