George Jenkins: The Grocery Clerk Who Built Publix and Gave It to His Employees

In 1930, a 22-year-old grocery clerk in Lakeland quit his job as manager of a Piggly Wiggly and opened his own store right next door. His name was George W. Jenkins, and the store he built from that single act of nerve became the largest employee-owned company in the United States.

A Food Palace in an Orange Grove

Jenkins grew up in Warm Springs, Georgia, where his family ran a general store. He moved to Florida and worked his way up from stocker to store manager before deciding to go out on his own. In 1940, he used an orange grove as collateral for a $70,000 bank loan and built what he called a “food palace” in Lakeland. It had air conditioning, fluorescent lighting, automatic doors, wide aisles, music playing overhead, and a paved parking lot. At a time when most grocery stores were dark and cramped, Jenkins built one that felt like a department store. Customers had never seen anything like it.

The Company That Belongs to Its People

Jenkins believed that people take better care of something they own. So he did something unusual: he gave his employees stock in the company. Full-time workers received shares and shared quarterly profits. Part-timers who worked at least 1,000 hours a year got the same deal. He also created an employee stock purchase plan so anyone at Publix could buy in. Today, employees own roughly 80 percent of the company through ESOP and 401(k) plans, making Publix the largest employee-owned company in the country with over 1,300 stores across the Southeast.

Giving It Back

Jenkins was as generous with his community as he was with his employees. In 1966, he established the George W. Jenkins Foundation to fund charitable organizations across Florida. After his death in 1996, it became Publix Super Markets Charities and continues to give millions each year. Florida Governor Lawton Chiles said Jenkins made a tremendous contribution to the state’s business climate but was, more importantly, a true civic leader with a deep dedication to improving communities. His headquarters never left Lakeland, and neither did his loyalty to the state that gave him his start.