Photo by Nicole Lopez-Alvar
Audio By Carbonatix
Publix, the Florida-born grocer with locations across Miami-Dade and Broward counties, appears to have quietly reversed its open-carry policy. No announcement, no press release. Just a new stance rolling out Tuesday through customer service reps and its own chatbot.
The news arrives one day after Publix dropped to fourth on America’s most trusted grocer ranking, behind Whole Foods, Kroger, and QuikTrip.
The Tampa Bay Times was the first to flag the change, and Orlando’s News 6 confirmed it after reaching a customer service representative who explained that new guidance had been issued: only law enforcement would be permitted to openly carry firearms inside Publix stores. The company’s online chatbot backed that up.
“Publix kindly asks that only law enforcement openly carry firearms in our stores,” it reads.
Photo and edit by Nicole Lopez-Alvar
How It Got Here
Publix originally aligned with Florida’s open carry law when it took effect in September 2025, following a landmark court ruling that found the prior prohibition violated the Second Amendment.
The company’s position at the time was that it followed all federal, state, and local laws and would engage law enforcement if any customer created a threatening or dangerous shopping experience, “whether they are openly carrying a firearm or not.” That was eight months ago.
The policy is apparently different now.
Photo by Nicole Lopez-Alvar
Only Law Enforcement Permitted in Florida
For a city where the Publix run is as routine as a cafecito, more than 60 locations stretch across Miami-Dade and Broward, from the Brickell outpost with a lunchtime sandwich line that doesn’t quit to stores in Little Havana, Kendall, and Doral that function as community anchors as much as they do as supermarkets.
The company hasn’t issued a formal statement. Whether the chatbot update reflects a full, company-wide policy change or a miscommunication somewhere in customer service is still unconfirmed. Publix has not said whether the reversal applies across all of its seven-state footprint or only to Florida, where open carry is legal.
The chatbot is telling anyone who asks that open carry is now for law enforcement only, and that’s a different answer than Publix was giving eight months ago.
Publix. Multiple Miami-Dade and Broward County locations; publix.com.
