Publix offering rent assistance to tenants in its shopping centers

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Publix is offering rent relief to its tenants who have closed their businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Lakeland-based grocer is waiving rent for two months to businesses that operate in shopping centers that Publix owns, according to a news release. Publix is also waiving maintenance fees and taxes, regardless of the tenant’s access to other relief.

Publix owns 282 shopping centers. The chain operates 1,243 grocery stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

“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 spokeswoman Maria Brous, in a statement.

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