Doubling down

Publix Super Markets Inc. isn't just the dominant grocery chain along the Gulf Coast — it's also a company with a considerable commercial real estate footprint that's growing in size.

Though the majority of its 1,152 stores located in seven states are leased, the Lakeland-based grocer has taken advantage of market conditions stemming from the last decade's recession to bolster the portfolio of real estate it owns.

Since 2010, Publix has more than doubled the number of stores it owns, to about 300, says Brad Crenshaw, one of nine real estate managers in the company.