When will your Publix close before Ian? When will it reopen? What about Walmart, Target?
Publix will close 449 stores in Florida until Friday morning along with closing three Florida Keys stores until Wednesday afternoon and 88 Winn-Dixie stores are closed Wednesday as Hurricane Ian begins to come ashore.
Here’s what we know so far about each chain.
▪ Publix: Stores in Marathon (5407 Overseas Hwy), the Key Plaza Shopping Center and Searstown Shopping Center closed at 10 p.m. Tuesday and plan to reopen at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
On the Gulf Coast, stores from Weekee Watchee, through the Tampa-St. Petersburg area all the way down to Marco Island closed early Tuesday, will remain closed Wednesday and Thursday and plan to reopen Friday at 7 a.m. In Central Florida, some stores will close Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Publix added an interactive map to its website to check for updates on store hours.
As for after a storm hits and leaves, Publix spokesperson Lindsay Willis said in an email, “We do have generators at nearly all of our Florida locations if a store should lose power. And, at locations where we don’t have permanent generators, we have the ability to bring mobile generators in.”
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▪ Winn-Dixie: Each Southeastern Grocers chain (Winn-Dixie, Fresco y Mas, Harveys) has its own Hurricane Ian update section.
The 88 Winn-Dixie stores closed Wednesday include three in Bradenton and run from the Tampa-St. Petersburg area down to Naples. Three Fresco y Mas stores in Tampa and one in Lehigh Acres are closed Wednesday. Two Harveys Supermarkets in Lakeland and one in Winter Haven are closed.
A Southeastern Grocers spokesperson said via email to the Herald the chain sent emergency trucks of essential items to Florida stores on Friday.
Also, “All our South Florida Fresco y Más and Winn-Dixie stores are fully equipped with back-up generators to safely protect perishable items in the absence of power, and we assess needs for each storm and store on a case-by-case basis.”
READ MORE: Is Disney World open? What about resorts and restaurants as Ian approaches?
▪ Walmart: Walmart got a real-time closure map running on its website. As of 7:15 a.m., Wednesday, 124 stores had closed from Orlando, over to Tampa and down to Naples. The Sam’s Club in Sunrise was the only South Florida location closed. Some of the closed stores still offered online grocery shopping (the Sunrise Sam’s Club did) and/or grocery delivery.
“Regarding the loss of power and reopening after the storm’s passing, we’re actively taking steps now to give us the best opportunity to resume operations once it’s safe to do so,” Walmart Director of Corporate Communication Charles Crowson said.
▪ Target: Tuesday, Tampa area stores closed at 10 p.m., St. Petersburg stores losed at 6 p.m. and Sarasota area stores closed at 8 p.m. Stores in all three areas will remain closed Wednesday and Thursday before reopening Friday.
Target spokesperson Brian Harper-Tibaldo emailed the Herald that “stores have access to generators in the event of power loss.”
If store hours change, Harper-Tibaldo said, any updates will be announced via the store locator on the Target website.
▪ Whole Foods Market locations in Tampa, Sarasota, Clearwater and Carrollwood closed Tuesday morning and are scheduled to reopen at 8 a.m. Thursday.
