We kinda love the newly renovated Winter Park Village Publix

In the run-up to the blizzard of love that is our annual Best of Orlando awards, sometimes items are proposed as writers’ picks that don’t make the cut. But that doesn’t mean we don’t genuinely love them. One such this year was Best Reno: Winter Park Village Publix.

The food gods smiled (again) on Winter Park when the newly renovated WPV Publix opened. New additions include a full cheese counter, a giant wine section, a massive produce area, several prepared-foods bars with dinner-ready selections like mustard-glazed salmon and asparagus topped with bleu cheese crumbles, noodle bowls (ramen, udon!) and a gelato counter offering kale smoothies among its creamy delights. Sure, you can still get your Pub Sub, but even that experience is upgraded by the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine. 

OK, it’s just a grocery store. But it’s the plushest one around, and for anyone working in the immediate area, it’s a best bet for happy lunch or easy dinner pick-up.

This article appears in Jul 29 – Aug 4, 2015.