When 22-year-old George Jenkins decided to open his own business in 1930, he was determined to run a better store than anyone else. He focused on delivering the finest service in the finest stores with the finest employees. So, it’s not surprising that Publix’s first motto was “Florida’s finest food stores.”

As stores expanded into new cities, an advertising department was established to promote the company to new customers. In 1949, Bill Schroter was hired as director of advertising for Publix.

As he was working on ad layouts, he took a hard look at the slogan. He had been listening to customers and often heard people say, “Publix is such a pleasant place to shop.” Schroter came up with an idea for a new slogan, a promise to customers to be the place “Where shopping is a pleasure.”

Working up his courage, he went in to talk with Jenkins. He explained his idea about changing the slogan.

“(He) was very, very silent for an awfully long period of time,” Schroter said. “He sort of stared through me for a few minutes.”

But finally, Jenkins gave a grin and said, “I like it. I like the promise. I like the meaning. Let’s adopt it.”

And in 1954, “Where shopping is a pleasure” became the new Publix slogan.

In his own words, this is how Jenkins felt about the Publix slogan: “This isn’t something we dreamed up out of blue sky and white Florida sand. It’s a philosophy that has guided all our decisions and policies ever since we opened our first food store. We have tried to make good and sure that nothing stands in the way of making that slogan a reality for each and every one of our customers.”