When the Publix at Eagles Park Retail Center shut its doors on March 7, it did more than turn off the lights. The closure wiped out the closest full-service supermarket for the Five Towns senior community and more than 2,000 nearby residents. Regulars who once strolled over on foot are now juggling longer drives, delivery apps or favors from family and friends. Neighbors say it is the latest blow in a string of exits that have turned a once-busy strip into a stretch of darkened windows.
Publix moved to a bigger store
Publix did not leave the neighborhood entirely. The company opened a new 55,454-square-foot store at 6605 38th Ave. N. on March 12, according to Publix. "We’re excited to welcome Saint Petersburg customers to their new Publix," the company said in its announcement. The replacement store comes with a pharmacy, an adjacent Publix Liquors, and beefed-up deli and bakery counters, and the company points out it offers both delivery and curbside pickup.
Longtime customers mourn
For many shoppers, the old store was not just convenient, it was personal. Publix managers marked closing night by presenting the Buckingham family with a cake and flowers; family matriarch Mary Ann Buckingham was the store’s very first customer when it opened in 1986, and photos of the family posing with staff circulated after the final day. The shutdown hits especially hard for residents of the Five Towns complex, home to more than 2,000 seniors, who say the faces and storefronts they have relied on for decades keep disappearing, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Anchor loss deepens vacancies
The Publix anchor at Eagles Park had been in place since 1986. Even before it closed, the center was already struggling, with at least 16 empty storefronts and a steep vacancy rate. Industry reporting pegged vacancies at about 43 percent and projected they would climb above 60 percent after Publix left, according to the USA TODAY Network. That report also identifies Miami Lakes-based Gator Eagle Partners as the property owner, leaving management with a large, hard-to-fill anchor space on its hands.
What comes next for shoppers
For now, Publix is leaning on the new store’s delivery and curbside pickup options as a lifeline for customers who cannot easily make the longer trip, a point the company highlighted in its opening announcement. Local reporting and industry coverage note that the scenario - chains consolidating into larger, amenity-packed locations while older strip centers scramble to backfill space - is popping up across the region, a pattern the Tampa Bay Times called the latest example. There is still no clear timetable for a new anchor at Eagles Park, and neighbors say they are counting on local officials and property managers to push for options that seniors can actually reach.
