Publix

The slow economy is not stopping these chains from eyeing growth in the Atlanta market over the next year and a half.

The unit carries the Apron's store-brand moniker, and will be a test pad for Publix.

The product was distributed to Publix stores in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee.

Publix Super Markets’ purchase of 49 Albertson’s LLC locations in Florida will cost the chain about $500 million, or more than $10 million per store, said Publix in a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Financial terms for the transaction had not been previously announced.

Publix Super Markets has joined forced with Organic Recovery, LLC, a developer and marketer of organic, environmentally friendly products, to increase its recycling rate by 25 percent to 30 percent in 33 stores. By the end of this summer, Organic Recovery aims to serve all 84 Publix stores in Broward County, Fla.

Costco Wholesale Corp. is committing to warning its customers about mercury contamination in fish by posting Food and Drug Administration mercury advice on signs at seafood counters in all of its stores.

Albertsons, LLC is concentrating its efforts on selling food, not fuel. Not only will Valero Energy Corp., based in San Antonio, sell its branded fuel at all Albertsons locations, but the grocery chain has also revealed a definitive agreement to sell its 15 fuel centers in Florida to DBR Lease Exchange, LLC, which purchased the fuel centers at Albertsons units recently acquired by Publix.

The chain saw same-store sales creep up, but earnings fall.