LARGO — Commuters on Ulmerton Road near Largo Mall might notice a significant change to the landscape, as two longtime fixtures — the Publix inside the mall and the Golden Corral one block east — have been demolished to make way for new, if familiar, development.
The Largo Mall Publix, which the Tampa Bay Beacons first reported on in February, closed Feb. 28. The Lakeland-based grocer plans to replace the nearly 79,000-square-foot store with a new, 52,000-square-foot building, according to a company spokesperson and building permit records.
The project continues a recent trend for Publix, which has remodeled or rebuilt several stores across the greater Tampa Bay area. A store at 1295 S. Missouri Ave. on the Clearwater-Largo line was demolished in September 2024 and reopened March 5.
Publix spokesperson Lindsey Willis told the Beacon the Largo Mall project is expected to take a year. A visit to the site in late April found the demolition nearly finished, with only the outer walls standing as backhoes and dump trucks cleared piles of debris.
A similar but much larger pile of rubble sits across a side street, where nothing but the Golden Corral Buffet & Grill sign remains of the once-popular restaurant.
The 20-year-old eatery, on a 3.24-acre parcel at 10050 Ulmerton Road, was among many businesses that never recovered from the pandemic. After it closed in 2020, the property became an eyesore, drawing complaints from neighbors as city officials and developers weighed its future.
“We’re not currently seeking to redevelop the site, more reuse the site,” Jaime Maier, an attorney with Hill Ward Henderson representing the property owner, told the city commission in 2022. “Golden Corral is really not a viable business model in a post-COVID world. However, the site is very well outfitted as built for a restaurant use. It’s a good location for a restaurant use.”
After years of stops and starts — and a unanimous tweak to the land use code aimed at making the property more marketable — the Golden Corral site is set to become home to a new restaurant.
Well, sort of.
In September 2024, Largo officials said a consulting firm had submitted a site plan review application for a 6,300-square-foot Chick-fil-A with two drive-thrus on the Golden Corral property. The chain confirmed in a statement that Chick-fil-A Largo is relocating from its current site at 10075 Ulmerton Road and is projected to open by the end of the year, pending any delays.
The new building will include a playground, a dual-lane drive-thru, Mobile Thru lane and Chick-fil-A Delivery, according to the statement. Tony Menendez will continue as the local owner-operator of the Largo restaurant, which has served the community for more than 20 years.
The move makes sense to many customers and commuters. The smaller Chick-fil-A across the street regularly backs up traffic in the heavily traveled corridor.
For now, there’s still a brief window to catch a last glimpse of the familiar red-and-yellow Golden Corral sign before it’s gone from Largo for good.