Some Publix Shoppers Have Abandoned This Prepared Food. What Happened?

There's a controversial topic afoot in the Publix fandom, and, for once, it's not the Pub Sub customizations that make these sandwiches better than Subway's. It's Publix's fried chicken, which is a hot item, both literally and figuratively. It's good to know the best days to shop at Publix, but also take note of the times, because if you show up around dinner, you may need to queue up with other hungry shoppers for a batch of fresh chicken. In the past, Publix has even been singled out as having some of the best fried chicken anywhere, beating national chains like KFC. And yet, as of late, some Redditors are griping that the store's chicken isn't up to snuff. What gives?

"What has happened to Publix fried chicken?" the headline of one Reddit post demands, "As a customer I used to love it, but then it turned to cr*p. The breading was soggy and no flavor. This was not an isolated store but all I have been to." A South Carolinian Reddit forum member also complained: "I don't know what changed, but the past few times I bought some it was dry and overcooked, with some pretty pathetic looking legs and wings." 

Meanwhile, elsewhere on Reddit, yet another disgruntled shopper swore off the poultry: "Paid $10.99 plus tax for a box of Publix hot deli fried chicken (mixed pieces). Get home and open the box to find the smallest pieces of chicken I [have] ever seen from the Publix deli [...] Publix has definitely changed." Yet, many others are still happy to sing the chicken's praises. So, is this a real problem, much less one that's unique to Publix alone?

There are some common mistakes people make when cooking fried chicken, and it seems that Publix may not be immune. In the comments of a Reddit post, a self-identified employee offered some explanation for the irregular results people seem to be experiencing with the hot chicken: "So the deli gets the chicken in a bag of 16 pieces. Sometimes the chicken is small, sometimes large, sometimes there's a massive size difference in the same bag. For better or worse, there's no adjusting cook times for chicken sizes [...] It's more a Purdue thing than Publix." Another Reddit thread called out both shrinkflation and specific Publix practices as possible issues, from overworked employees to overcooked chicken meant to meet safety standards.

So, are the claims of fried chicken downfall fair? While we don't have any hard data to prove anything, perhaps suppliers may be part of the issue and not solely your local Publix deli employees (who can have off days, too). And it's worth noting that many folks still go absolutely gaga for Publix fried chicken, with more than one happy buyer proclaiming it to still be the best they've ever had. 

In short, you should expect quality when you buy chicken from Publix. Luckily, if you don't get it, you have some recourse. If your Publix chicken (or any other groceries) disappoints, you should absolutely go back to the store and ask for a refund under the terms of Publix's darn-near bulletproof satisfaction guarantee. It should also be noted that at least one complaining Reddit customer came back and updated their post with good news that the chicken seems to be better nowadays.