Before Publix comes to Sanibel, remember what we stand to lose
To the editor:
My family moved to Sanibel Island in 1995, when I was a child. I attended The Sanibel School, grew up here, worked here, and called this island home until 2015, when life took me to Tennessee. But Sanibel never stopped being home. In 2026, my husband and I moved our family back to Sanibel with our 4-year-old daughter because I wanted to give her something that has become increasingly rare in Florida. I wanted her to experience the childhood I was fortunate enough to have.
I wanted her to grow up riding along Periwinkle Way and recognizing the same familiar places I knew as a little girl. I wanted her to attend school on the island, know her neighbors, grow up surrounded by wildlife, and understand that the place she lives is worth protecting. Most of all, I wanted her childhood memories to overlap with some of mine. That is why I am completely against the possibility of Publix replacing Bailey’s General Store.
Sanibel has spent decades protecting the unique character, sanctuary qualities, and integrity of our barrier island. Bringing a major corporate chain onto one of the most historic local commercial properties on Sanibel goes against the spirit of what generations of islanders have worked so hard to preserve. This is not about whether Publix is a nice grocery store or whether having one on the island would be convenient. It is about precedent and what we want Sanibel to look like 10, 20, or 30 years from now.
Once we begin replacing locally owned Sanibel institutions with large corporate chains, where does it stop? Sanibel should not slowly become another generic Florida beach town filled with the same corporations you can find everywhere else. There are countless communities throughout Southwest Florida where we can shop at large corporate businesses. Part of what makes Sanibel extraordinary is that it has resisted becoming one of them.
Bailey’s was never simply a place to buy groceries. For generations, it was woven into the fabric of Sanibel and became part of the shared history of families who called this island home. Businesses like Bailey’s gave Sanibel an identity that could not be replicated somewhere else. They were distinctly ours. Losing Bailey’s after Hurricane Ian was already an enormous loss for our community. Seeing its historic property become home to a major corporate chain would feel like losing another piece of it.
I understand that rebuilding Bailey’s would require an enormous financial investment, and I would never minimize what the Bailey and Johnson family has endured or what rebuilding such a historic business would require. But surely our choices cannot simply be Publix or an abandoned corner. If the financial burden is standing in the way of rebuilding Bailey’s, I would love to see the community given an opportunity to help. Establish a community rebuilding fund, start a GoFundMe, or explore partnerships and other creative possibilities. My family would happily contribute, and I believe many others who understand what Bailey’s means to Sanibel would consider doing the same.
I do not want the Bailey’s property sitting vacant or deteriorating. I want that corner beautiful and thriving again. But wanting the property restored does not mean accepting the idea that a massive corporate chain is our only alternative. I have heard that a proposed Publix could be designed to blend into the character of Sanibel, but this was never about the appearance of the building. You can give Publix an island style façade, surround it with palms, make the signage subtle, and make the architecture beautiful, but you cannot manufacture history. Architecture cannot recreate generations of local ownership or the relationship between an island and the families who have served it for generations.
My concern is not that Publix is a bad company. My concern is what its arrival would represent. Sanibel did not remain different from the rest of coastal Florida by accident. Generations before us made intentional decisions to protect this island from overdevelopment and commercialization. They understood that once something unique is lost, making its replacement look quaint does not bring that uniqueness back.
The character of a community is rarely lost overnight. It happens gradually. One exception becomes another. One familiar local institution is replaced by something more convenient, and then another follows. Eventually, we risk looking around and wondering when the place we worked so hard to protect became indistinguishable from everywhere else. Those of us who call Sanibel home chose this island because it is different. Bailey’s was part of the history and identity of Sanibel for generations, and whatever ultimately occupies that corner should reflect our island, support our community, and preserve its character rather than slowly chip away at it.
There are countless places throughout Southwest Florida where we can find Publix and other national chains. There is only one Sanibel. I came home after 11 years away because this island was still special enough that I wanted my daughter to experience the childhood I had here. Thirty years from now, I hope she can look at Sanibel and feel the same connection that brought me home.
Before we trade another piece of Sanibel’s history for convenience, I hope we remember what generations before us worked so hard to preserve. Progress and rebuilding are necessary, but they should not require Sanibel to surrender the very qualities that made this island worth protecting in the first place. Protect what makes Sanibel, Sanibel.
Abigail Meadors
Sanibel