The problem here, in the Shoals, is not with Publix. When I lived in Atlanta (McDonough) we had a Publix immediately behind our subdivision and that was our store of choice. There were three other chains (including ALDI) that were in competition as well as Kroger. On the surface many believe Publix to be far more expensive and many won't shop there for that reason. They pick out two or three items that they may need and look at those. Problem is that Publix offers many Buy One Get One free items and you don't have to buy two in order to get the sale price. Additionally Publix, over any other grocery chain, maintains a higher quality and standard on it's own Store Labeled items which area discounted.
Will you always reduce your overall shopping bill by shopping solely at Publix? No! I do believe though that given the much nicer stores, greater assortment of items, quality of merchandise and shopping experience with wider isles, informative people that Publix will become a major player in the supermarket industry around here and become many people's first choice of where to shop.
There will remain a place for AUDI and it's shoppers will not generally find Publix to their liking but I'm enthused that Publix is considering the area and I hope enough people, that have never shopped there before, give it a few tries before they condemn it.
Oh by the way ... the Deli, meat market, and seafood markets within the store cannot be equalled by any other retailer we have in this area. Crocodile Ed's will find competition at Publix's seafood market and Publix will prepare it for you right there before you leave if you want.
Classy, Quality, decent prices and above average shopping experience I believe has made Publix one of the highest rated grocers in the US. I hope they continue to come here and I'm looking forward to it.