Publix is moving to add a liquor store right next door to its grocery store at the Hollieanna Shopping Center in Winter Park, filing for a permit to expand into a vacant space that once housed a nail salon. The grocery chain has not announced an exact opening date, though the project points toward a buildout in the shopping center's southwest corner at Fairbanks and Orlando avenues.
According to bizjournals.com, Publix filed for a permit to expand an existing location into a vacant space next to its existing grocery store. WhatNow reports the new store will occupy a vacant 1,313-square-foot space that was previously home to Couture Nails. The outlet's reporting places the incoming liquor store at 743 S. Orlando Avenue, next to the existing Publix grocery store, while property listings from Crossman & Company identify the overall shopping center, known as Publix #1388, at 741 S. Orlando Avenue — a discrepancy that has not been resolved in available records.
What the New Store Will Carry
Publix itself describes its liquor stores as carrying a wide assortment of bourbon, whiskey, vodka, tequila, rum, premixed cocktails, beer, wine, champagne and mixers, per the company's own Publix Liquors page. The chain's locations also typically include cocktail accessories, bar sets and party favors, along with small-batch blends, botanicals, infusions, hard seltzers and imported selections.
Winter Park already has two other Publix Liquors locations, at 440 N. Orlando Avenue and 2295 Aloma Avenue. The Winter Park Village store, per its own retailer listing, also offers a variety of wine, beer, soft drinks and accessories.
A Long-Running Shopping Center Gets a New Tenant
Hollieanna Shopping Center dates back to 1962 and was remodeled in 2011, making it one of the longest-operating Publix-anchored shopping centers in the area. Publix purchased the property in 2014, the same deal that also brought it the neighboring Oakley Center. Other tenants at Hollieanna include AAA Insurance and Travel Agency, Hair Cuttery and Marco's Pizza, while the adjacent Oakley Center is anchored by Orange Tree Antique Mall alongside a hair salon, a Sherwin-Williams paint store and Moe's Southwest Grill.
Crossman & Company markets the center as sitting in the heart of the desirable Winter Park submarket, citing strong demographics and household incomes in the surrounding area. An exact opening date for the new liquor store has not been announced; the project is anticipated for late in the first quarter of 2027, according to WhatNow's reporting.
Part of a Broader Liquor-Store Push
Publix launched its free-standing liquor stores in 2003, and the format is often located adjacent to a sibling grocery store, according to Market Watch Magazine. That trade publication notes that numerous grocery and even some convenience-store chains have greatly expanded their presence in the beverage-alcohol space in recent years, with Publix among those pushing into new markets — including an expansion into Kentucky that brought a Louisville store featuring more than 150 bourbons.
Exactly how large Publix's liquor-store footprint has grown is unclear from available company materials. Publix's own website states the company has over 350 stores across the Southeast, while a Winter Park Village retailer listing puts the figure at more than 250 locations since the first store opened in 2003 — a discrepancy that remains unreconciled in the record. Either way, the planned Hollieanna location would mark another entry in a now-familiar pattern for the grocer: pairing its liquor stores directly alongside its supermarkets.
