Is Publix Open or Closed on Easter Sunday 2026?
We've all been there. People are headed over to your house for Easter dinner, and you're missing an item or two. Next comes the frantic rush to see whether any grocery stores are actually open.
But what of Publix? Is Publix open or closed on Easter Sunday 2026? Easter falls on April 5, 2026.
The answer is, unfortunately, no. Easter is one of only three holidays on which Publix stores close their doors. According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Publix stores will NOT be open on Easter Sunday. The other holidays that provoke Publix stores to close are Christmas and Thanksgiving. According to that newsdpaper, the pharmacies and liquor stores will also be closed on Easter.
Some Other Grocery Stores Will Be Open
(Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
According to TODAY, some other grocery stores will also be open. They include Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Meijer, Winn-Dixie, Kroger, and Whole Foods.
Publix gives these facts and figures on its website:
"We were founded in 1930 in Winter Haven, Florida, by George W. Jenkins. We are the largest employee-owned company in the United States. We are one of the 10 largest-volume supermarket chains in the country. Our retail sales in 2025 reached $62.7 billion. Currently, we employ over 260,000 people."
The chain explained how it stays true to its founder's values.
The chain explains on its website: "From the opening of the very first Publix Food Store, our founder, George Jenkins, believed in doing the right thing."
“Some companies are founded on policy,” Jenkins said. “This is wrong. Philosophy, the things you believe in, is more important. Philosophy does not change frequently and is never compromised.” Added Publix: "Since 1930, his philosophies have guided us in providing premier service and cultivating a culture where associates can grow and thrive."
The chain has 1,432 store locations:
- Virginia (24 stores)
- Alabama (96 stores)
- Florida (890 stores)
- Georgia (219 stores)
- Kentucky (6 stores)
- North Carolina (61 stores)
- South Carolina (74 stores)
- Tennessee (62 stores)
What Is the History of the Easter Bunny?
Obviously, for some people, Easter Sunday has great religious meaning. However, there is also a secular component to Easter for some people. What of the Easter Bunny? Where did that tradition start?
"Over a thousand years later, during the Iron Age, ritual burials for hares were common, and in 51 B.C.E., Julius Caesar mentioned that in Britain, hares were not eaten due to their religious significance," Smithsonian Magazine wrote.
"From the Greek world through the Renaissance, hares often appear as symbols of sexuality in literature and art. For example, the Virgin Mary is often shown with a white hare or rabbit, symbolizing that she overcame sexual temptation."
German folklore created the ancestor of the Easter Bunny, however. "But it is in the folk traditions of England and Germany that the figure of the hare is specifically connected to Easter. Accounts from the 1600s in Germany describe children hunting for Easter eggs hidden by the Easter hare, much as in the United States today," Smithsonian Magazine reported.