Until now, no company has offered home delivery of Publix groceries in Lakeland. But by next week, Lakeland customers will be able to choose between two delivery services. A day before Shipt service starts here (we wrote about it June 9), Publix has announced that Instacart-powered Publix Delivery delivery comes to Lakeland June 28.
Travis, 36, moves from director of the Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency to the $128k job. An economic development emphasis has been added since the retirement of her predecessor, Jim Studiale.
Lakeland residents who have wanted to order groceries online and have them delivered to their home that day will get their wish starting June 21. Shipt, a Birmingham-based company owned by Target, will offer delivery in Lakeland from Publix, Winn Dixie, Target, GFS and ABC Fine Wine and Liquors.
Jay Care Medical Center (web), a five-clinic practice based in Lakeland, and its affiliate, Parkview Medical Group, have been acquired by Palm Medical Centers (web), a Miami-based company associated with private equity firm MBF Healthcare Partners, Tampa Bay Business Journal reports. “Jay Care will serve as the foundation for our growth strategy in Central Florida as we continue to partner with other providers and leverage our experience in the managed care space,” Palm Medical Centers CEO Juan Ortiz said in a statement.
After 10 years without pay raises under three owners, employees at The Ledger can expect some again, the Poynter Institute’s Rick Edmonds reports. GateHouse Media has agreed to a 1 percent raise for its unionized newsroom workers this September and another 1.7 percent a year later. Non-union employees will be eligible for a 2 percent raise pool this year and next, the CEO of GateHouse’s parent company told Edmonds.
Add Xebec Realty, which specializes in logistics facilities, to the list of companies building large spec warehouses on a section of State Road 33 just north of Interstate 4. The company bought 60 acres at 8355 SR 33 (map) and plans to invest $39.3 million to build a 533,000-square-foot, Class A regional bulk logistics facility, Connect Commercial Real Estate reported. Construction is expected to begin by the end of the year and be completed in the second half of next year. Specs include 40-foot clearances, a 185-foot truck court and 114 docks. Tampa Bay Business Journal called the deal “another sign of the strength of the Lakeland industrial market.”
“Customers place their order online, and select the curbside carryout location. The system generates available pickup times based on volume at the moment for that location, and they pay for the order,” Publix spokesman Brian West said. Two other area Publix stores — Highland City Town Center and the Lake Gibson Shopping Center — already have curbside pickup. There’s no word yet on when the program will expand to other stores.
Chris McArthur talks with The Lakelander’s Kristin Crosby and shares his journey from a 20-year-old Marine at the forefront of the invasion of Iraq to lessons he’s learned as an entrepreneur growing Black & Brew Coffee House & Bistro and Patriot Coffee Roasters. The latest issue of The Lakelander, which focuses on Business, will debut at a release party from 5:30 to 7:30 tonight at Black & Brew.
Sometimes it helps to be in Lakeland. Just ask Chris McArthur, the founder of Patriot Coffee Roasters. Somebody who bought his coffee beans at the downtown farmer’s market passed a sample along to a friend who works at Publix Super Markets headquarters. Long story short: That person is the buyer for Publix’ Florida Local program, and Patriot Coffee now has a deal to sell three kinds of its whole beans at 350 Publix stores throughout Florida.
