Florida During the depression, Jenkins had purchased an orange grove. In 1940, he used that as collateral to secure a $70,000 bank loan to build the store of his dreams, the first supermarket in Florida. Described as a "food palace", the building had much glass and marble, with a stucco exterior. There was a paved parking lot, and the front entrance utilized an electric eye automatic door opener. The interior was air conditioned, with bright fluorescent lighting, wide aisles, and music playing in the background. The open dairy cases were custom designed, and freezers offered frozen food. These features were unheard of in the grocery business at that time. The original two Publix stores were closed, but Jenkins realized that he would have to open many more stores to be successful. Expansion Building materials were scarce during World War II, so in 1945 Jenkins purchased an existing company: Lakeland Grocery Company of Lakeland, Florida, which operated a chain of 19 locations under the name All American Food Stores. Jenkins promptly moved the Publix offices to Lakeland's existing buildings; Lakeland remains the headquarters of Publix as of 2022. Jenkins travelled frequently, for he was always looking for products and innovations to improve his stores. In the 1950s, bakeries and flower shops were added, delicatessens came in the 1960s, and in the 1980s, pharmacies and Presto!, a network of no-charge automated teller machines. In the early 1990s, the chain began to expand outside of Florida, starting in Georgia. By 1995, there were over 500 supermarkets in three states with almost 100,000 employees and sales of $9.4 billion. Employee policy Jenkins was referred to as "Mr. George" by his employees, who were known as associates. Full-time workers were granted stock in the company and shared the store's profits on a quarterly basis. These benefits were eventually expanded to part-timers who worked at least 1,000 hours annually. Personal life Family Jenkins married Lee Savings in 1940. She died less than two years later. In 1947 he married Anne MacGregor, a registered nurse. They had seven children. The couple divorced in 1974. Death and tributes Jenkins suffered a stroke on August 8, 1989, but continued to work and visit his supermarkets in a wheelchair. Jenkins died in 1996 at Lakeland Regional Medical Center and was buried in Oak Hill Burial Park in Lakeland. He left his wealth to the George M. Jenkins Fund (charity) and