Supermarket goes viral after letting customers sip beer and wine while shopping

A grocery store that opened in Wellington, Florida, last year has become a viral sensation for its sip-and-shop environment.

At this particular Publix supermarket, shoppers can push carts with cupholders, sip a craft beer or mimosa and grab a slice of pizza while strolling the aisles.

It's earned the moniker of "Clublix" in local headlines and among customers who claim that it lives up to the Florida-based supermarket chain's slogan, "Where shopping is a pleasure."

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The Wellington location is home to Publix Pours, a full bar serving beer, wine, coffee, smoothies and açaí bowls.

Inside the store is a wide variety of food options, including a burrito counter where customers can build their own meal, Chipotle-style, without having to pay extra for guacamole.

There's also a fresh popcorn station with flavors like caramel, dill pickle and Oreo.

Store manager Joe Seguine told Fox News Digital he's got "nothing but praise for the store being dubbed 'Clublix.'"

The novelty has created a community feel among customers — many of whom have become regulars at the bar, Seguine said — and employees.

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"You got the moms [who] are coming in, and they're loving it for happy hour," Seguine said. 

"And then you have the dads [who] happen to want to go grocery shopping a lot more with the wives because they get to watch the game on Sundays or just have their local craft beer."

For some nearby residents, the store has become more than just another Publix.

"We're here at least once or twice a week," Wellington mother Sarah Sayre told Fox News Digital. "The kids love the smoothies here at the bar."

The atmosphere is also more manageable with two young children than it would be at a restaurant, Sayre said. 

"Mom gets a coffee every time, for sure," she said.

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Near the Publix Pours counter, another customer was overheard telling a store employee, "Best açaí bowls in Palm Beach County right here."

Although the store has been open almost a year, the buzz has been amplified online, with shoppers routinely saying they've traveled from places as far away as Miami, about 70 miles to the south, just to check it out for themselves, Seguine said.

Content creators like Kevin Escalera have helped turn Wellington's Publix into a destination, thanks to food and drink reviews on Instagram and TikTok.

Escalera, a Miami food influencer who reviewed the location earlier this year, said he's never seen a grocery store with its own bar.

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"The Publix Pours section was fun because it's a cool way of bringing people together and having something unique," he told Fox News Digital.

Escalera said he thought the bar "felt a little bit like a gimmick" until he saw how crowded it was when he was there.

He praised the pizza and popcorn, but said he was unimpressed with the burrito. He said it tasted like "college dining hall food."

Overall, it was worth the drive, Escalera said.

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"I like that they're like pushing the envelope and trying to have more options, because having prepared foods is a part of the grocery store experience to elevate it, in my opinion," he said. 

Although there are other Publix Pours locations in Florida and in other states where Publix has a presence, Wellington remains the standout on social media.

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Maria Brous, director of communications for all Publix supermarkets, told Fox News Digital it's a concept that shoppers could be seeing more of in the future.

"As we continue to grow, and we move into other stores and into other states as well, it gives us the opportunity, if the space allows, to be able to put in a Pours, or to be able to put in an expanded deli," she said.

"It gives customers more options. In a time-starved world, it's the opportunity to be able to say, ‘I can stop [at] one place, get something for dinner or for lunch for everyone, and not have to worry about multiple trips.’"