Joe Culpepper/Gulf Breeze News Two-year-old Emma Grace Phelan, in the arms of her father, Shawn, doesn't quite know what to make of 'Plato' the Publixaurus during the May 7 grand opening of Publix supermarket in Gulf Breeze. The Phelan family drove from West Pensacola to check out the store's stock of organic foods. Thousands of consumers visited the upscale grocery store, the anchor of the new Sea Shell Collections development. The excitement in Gulf Breeze was palpable Wednesday, May 7, as Publix supermarket launched a new era of shopping in the city with its grand opening in the glistening new, 16-acre Sea Shells Collections development.

By day's end, several thousand shoppers had passed through the sliding doors of Publix, a 45,600-squarefoot, upscale grocery. Store manager Ed Betts greeted customers and distributed hundreds of complimentary coffee mugs to early arrivals.

"We had a huge outpouring from the community," said Mark Pittman, district manager of Publix stores on the Emerald Coast. "We had a line of customers about 40 yards long waiting at 8 a.m. to shop with us.

Joe Culpepper/Gulf Breeze News Publix bakery attendants help a customer as shoppers wind their way through the deli section during the grocery store's grand opening May 7. "It was a struggle just to keep enough grocery carts available."

Publix is the anchor of the Sea Shells Collections shopping center. The land previously was home to a skating rink and beach merchandise store. The complex also includes Publix Liquors and will be home to 15 other stores and two restaurants, slated to open in about eight weeks.

ReMax on the Coast, Marble Slab Creamery and Catch of the Day seafood grill and sports restaurant are known to be eventual tenants. Others include Gulf Breeze Eye Care Center; Life is Good Neighborhood Shoppe; Guglielmo's Italian Grill, Emerald Turtle, Smoothie King, New Balance, AAH Salon and Spa and Elite Nail Spa.

One of the shoppers Wednesday was Gulf Breeze resident Dorothy Semaine, 79, who worked 39 years at Allen Davis' Shell Shop, which was razed to make way for the new Moulton Properties development.

"I've been anticipating this opening for days," Semaine said. "I've seen a lot of grocery stores come and go in Gulf Breeze. I've never shopped at a Publix before, but I've heard they have wonderful produce and a great bakery. It's really impressive."

Equally impressed with Publix's produce was Ann- Marie Bowyer, a Gulf Breeze resident and retired Pensacola Junior College instructor. Joined by her mother-in-law, Olive Bowyer from Bakersville, N.C., Ann-Marie was scouting for fruits and vegetables to stock her yacht for a regatta from Pensacola to Mexico that was to set sail Wednesday.

"I've been excited about having a Publix close by," Ann- Marie Bowyer said. "The other Publix (in Navarre) is eight miles past me, and I don't go east very often. It's been a little more trouble getting down there because of the price of gas lately. I'm definitely going to be using this Publix."

Pittman said Gulf Breeze perfectly fits the Publix business model in the Panhandle. He said the city's affluence and proximity to the beach make it a prime location for the supermarket chain, which has been a staple in South Florida for decades.

"Gulf Breeze is a bed-andbreakfast type community," Pittman said. "It's an affluent, seasonal community that has a lot of tourism. It fits right in with what we do."

Publix stocks a number of food brands unavailable at other area grocery stores. It features an abundance of natural, organic products, a large line of freshcut fruit, fresh-baked goods and gourmet items, artisan breads and specialty desserts.

Shawn and Sara Phelan of West Pensacola were shopping for organic foods with their two young children. They said the 15-minute drive from their home was well worth it.

"Organic foods are very important to us," Shawn Phelan said.

"We love Publix," Sara Phelan added. "We've shopped at Publix all over Florida, and other states have them now. We always go to them, and now we have one."

The complex's architecture was designed to complement the Andrews Institute of Orthopaedic Science, which opened a year ago next to Gulf Breeze Hospital.

Publix will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Pittman said closing hours will be extended to 11 p.m. during the high-traffic summer months.