To most, a lollipop is a hard, sweet candy, formed into all sorts of shapes and sizes. To Floridians, a lollipop is a nickname given to the antique dial atop the vintage scales at the entrance to almost every Publix Super Market — a piece of history some future Floridians could grow up without knowing.

Back in 1930, George Washington Jenkins Sr., the father of Publix Super Markets, incorporated his business. Fifteen years later in 1945, he purchased the Lakeland Grocery Company, which included 19 small stores, a headquarters, and a warehouse.

Fast forward to 2021, Publix now employs over 225,000 people across 1,294 stores, 11 manufacturing facilities, and 9 distribution centers. Almost 100 years later, most of those 832 Florida stores all house vintage scales. Typically found near the carts, these are a unique feature local to the Sunshine State. 

Publix’s scale | Photo via the LALtoday team

George Jenkins birthed the idea back in the 1940s when household scales were a dime-a-dozen. Instead of charging guests to utilize the “people weighers”, as they were called back then, George allowed his patrons to put the scales to use for free as a way to pique scale-seekers to enter into the supermarket and buy from Publix. Since then, the scales have become a staple for Publix shoppers.

In 2015, Mettler Toledo ceased production of the 2830 “lollipop model.” Earlier this month, the scales went viral, with Floridians panicking that the scales will disappear. Rest assured, while some new stores will be scale-less, Publix has purchased the remaining inventory + plans to keep the remaining scales in circulation for as long as possible.

Are you an avid scale-stepper at Publix? Tell us how long you’ve been utilizing this piece of history here.

Quiz

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