Publix Market’s plans to expand/replace the venerable Palm Beach store is testament to the fact that the original opening of the store was The Event of the Season, as I documented in a Christmas 2006 post.  No doubt that Publix has a long way to go in satifying everyone before they start, but there’s no doubt now that even Palm Beach needs a grocery store.

And, Publix is still on a roll: when they opened a store a few kilometres away from my home in East Tennessee, the Friday night after opening was stampeded to the extent that they ran out of shopping carts!

My dear thanks to Joyce Reingold, publisher of the Palm Beach Daily News, who featured my reminiscence of the original opening in her blog.  Hopefully, as the Shiny Sheet expands its historical offerings, it will include this as well.  This tale, along with the starting of the Church Mouse resale shop, are two of my favourite stories from my years on the island.  (It’s interesting to note that the Church Mouse had to be relocated shortly after opening to make way for Publix.) 

And now a sigh of relief for the Shiny Sheet.  From a recent memo to employees of the parent paper from the The Palm Beach Post’s publisher:

I am writing today to advise you of the changes that will begin taking place throughout our company this week.

Our plan is to reduce our workforce of 1,350 by more than 300 full-time equivalent positions across The Palm Beach Post, Florida Pennysaver, and La Palma. The Palm Beach Daily News will not be affected…