Supermarket
During the depression, Jenkins had purchased an orange grove. In 1940, he used that as collateral to secure a $70,000 bank loan to build the store of his dreams, the first supermarket in Florida. Described as a "food palace", the building had lots of glass and marble, with a stucco exterior. There was a paved parking lot, and the front entrance utilized an electric eye automatic door opener. The interior was air conditioned, with bright fluorescent lighting, wide aisles and music playing in the background. The open dairy cases were custom designed, and freezers offered frozen food. These features were unheard of in the grocery business at that time. The original two Publix stores were closed, but Jenkins realized that he would have to open many more stores to be successful.
Read more about this topic: George W. Jenkins
Famous quotes containing the word supermarket:
“With the supermarket as our temple and the singing commercial as our litany, are we likely to fire the world with an irresistible vision of America’s exalted purpose and inspiring way of life?”
—Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965)