Publix<\/a>, leaving residents and businesses struggling.<\/p>\n“It\u2019s very inconvenient. I\u2019m used to stopping here virtually every day or every other day to pick things up as I need them. Now you have to plan things more carefully,” Catalano said.<\/p>\n
Local businesses in the area say they have been hit hard since the fire.<\/p>\n
“I think business dropped about 60 percent,” said Sam Tran, who works at Noire Nail Bar.<\/p>\n
“Anywhere from 5 to 8 customers last year \u2014 during this time we were 25 to 30,” added Rebecca Davidson, owner of American Shaman CBD.<\/p>\n
After months of uncertainty, city leaders confirm that Publix will submit plans in the coming weeks to rebuild its Dolphin Village location \u2014 a major step toward a grand reopening.<\/p>\n
“The City of St. Pete Beach is pleased to learn that Publix intends to reopen and resume serving our residents and visitors,” Mayor Adrian Petrila said as he weighed in on the announcement. “The City recognizes the essential role that Publix plays in our community as well as the critical importance of resilient redevelopment. We are encouraged to hear that a plan will be submitted for the City\u2019s consideration. We look forward to working with Publix to strive for a timely and successful reopening.”<\/p>\n
“Oh, that\u2019s lovely! Everybody loves it \u2014 they love it!” Tran said.<\/p>\n
“Just having that neighborhood store back will really impact us a lot. We\u2019re so excited to see it coming back,” Davidson added.<\/p>\n
A Publix spokesperson confirmed that the new store will be one of the company\u2019s next-generation prototype locations, featuring a modern design, energy-saving upgrades, and a more convenient shopping experience.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s hurt the beach. Tourists need groceries \u2014 so many places need supplies. I think Walgreens even turned into a little grocery store,” Catalano said.<\/p>\n
The big question that remains on everyone\u2019s mind is: When will construction begin, and when will Publix officially reopen?\u00a0<\/p>\n
A spokesperson says those details are still being finalized, encouraging residents to check back for updates soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Publix spokesperson confirmed that the new store will be one of the company\u2019s next-generation prototype locations. ST.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-22843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}