Publix offering free rent to tenants in its company-owned centers

The dominant grocer in Florida (who is also a major property owner in the state) is offering assistance to some of its neighboring businesses as the COVID-19 pandemic forces them to temporarily close their doors. 

Publix is offering rent relief to businesses operating in company-owned shopping centers that have closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The relief package includes waiving rent for two months, along with waiving payments for common area maintenance fees and taxes. The offer is good regardless of the tenant’s access to other relief or assistance. (Publix owns 282 shopping centers, reported the Tampa Bay Times.)

“As a company that started as a small business 90 years ago, Publix wants to help businesses renting from us survive the economic impact of these unexpected closures,” said Publix director of communications Maria Brous.

Publix, the largest employee-owned company in the U.S. with more than 200,000 associates, currently operates 1,243 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.