8 Publix Products Florida Shoppers Are Still Upset Got Discontinued

Many of us know the sinking feeling of discovering that a grocery store discontinued a product we loved.

These are the Publix products Florida shoppers are still upset got discontinued.

1. Icebox Cheesecake

Icebox cheesecake used to anchor the Publix bakery case, layering dark chocolate, a whipped cream cheese filling, chocolate frosting, and a cherry on top.

One devoted shopper loved it enough to start a petition asking Publix to bring it back.

It didn’t work.

Publix’s communications director has pointed fans toward the Brownie Crunch Cheesecake instead, calling it similar in flavor profile.

Floridians who grew up on the cherry-topped original still say it isn’t the same cake.

2. Sour Cream and Cheddar Macaroni Salad

Sour cream and cheddar macaroni salad once sat in the Publix deli case, and it hasn’t shown back up in years.

It leaned tangier and richer than the plain macaroni salad Publix still sells, built for a cookout table next to the ribs and the corn.

Southern Living put the sour cream and cheddar version on its roundup of discontinued Publix items shoppers want back, with no sign it’s returning.

The creamy version Publix sells today, mixed with celery, pickle relish, and carrots, covers the basics, but it never carried that same sharp bite.

Shoppers who want that tang have to make the salad at home.

Publix never said why.

3. Onion Rye Bread

Publix’s bakery used to slice a dark rye loaf streaked with onion, the kind of bread that turned a plain ham sandwich into something worth bragging about.

Onion rye has been discontinued in most Publix stores, though a few markets still carry the loaf.

Sandwich builders leaned on it for a stacked Reuben or a corned beef on rye at the deli counter next door.

That loss stings.

A ham and swiss on plain white bread just isn’t as good.

Publix still bakes French and sourdough loaves fresh through the day at many stores, but neither one carries that onion bite.

4. Fiery Cranberry Rotisserie Chicken

For a while, a fiery cranberry glaze turned Publix’s usual rotisserie chicken into something worth circling back for.

Southern Living called it a limited-time run that hasn’t made a repeat appearance in years.

Publix rotates the flavors on its oven roasted chickens, so a favorite can vanish without any announcement.

Mojo, lemon pepper, and barbecue survived that rotation.

Fiery cranberry didn’t.

5. Pix Soda

Publix added Pix Soda to its own private-label lineup in the 1960s, back when store brands were still new to its shelves.

Pix Soda came in striped cans and nearly every basic flavor, from cola and ginger ale to lemon-lime and orange.

One account puts the end of Pix Soda at 1989, and it never returned to a single Publix shelf.

No revival ever followed.

Publix did reuse the Pix name in the 2000s for a small chain of gas stations it ran alongside its stores, which is the only place the word has surfaced since.

Floridians who grew up drinking it out of those striped cans still check antique malls and online marketplace listings for an unopened can.

6. Hurricane Cakes

Publix's bakery once iced sheet cakes and oversized cookies with swirling hurricane tracks and blunt messages like "Go Away," sized for a family riding out a storm together.

Publix stopped making them in the wake of Florida's deadly 2022 hurricane season, telling news outlets it is company policy not to produce bakery cakes that make light of a natural disaster.

The company has never said exactly when that policy took effect.

Shoppers pushed back hard.

A Change.org petition asking Publix to bring the cakes back has topped 40,000 signatures.

Publix hasn't budged.

Every hurricane season, Floridians still ask a bakery associate if this is the year the storm cakes come back.

7. Strawberry Cake

A long list of cake flavors still lines the Publix bakery counter, including chocolate, vanilla, marble, carrot, and red velvet.

An 8-inch strawberry cake used to sit on that list, the right size for a small birthday or anniversary.

It no longer appears anywhere in Publix's cake lineup.

Strawberry survives at that counter only as a filling or a topping.

Publix will still personalize a cake with a message of up to 50 characters, just not in the strawberry flavor most fans remember.

Floridians hosting a small get-together now order vanilla and add fresh strawberries on top themselves.

The flavor never matches.

8. Southern Style Custard

Every holiday season, Publix stocked its own Southern Style Custard by the quart, a sweeter, unspiced cousin of eggnog, plus an amaretto version.

Publix dropped both for the 2025 holidays while its eggnog cartons stayed put.

Shoppers traded reports on Reddit through December, and Publix employees confirmed in the same threads that the carton wasn't coming back.

One shopper checked every Publix in Cocoa Beach and Melbourne before giving up.

Publix still stocks Purity Old Style Boiled Custard, a Tennessee dairy brand, on the same refrigerated shelf in December.

It isn't the same drink.