The company’s GreenWise banner is a private label of specialty, natural, organic and gourmet foods. The shops serve the same upscale shoppers as Whole Foods and other smaller specialty chains.

Lakeland, Fla.–based Publix launched GreenWise Market as a separate store concept in 2008 in Palm Beach, Fla., and then added other stores in the state — in Tampa and Boca Raton. GreenWise offers prepared foods, such as burrito bowls, Mediterranean pizza, sushi and smoked wings, and the shops hold wine and cheese tastings.

“You can order a wine flight and lounge in the mezzanine area with friends,” said Brian West, a Publix spokesman, as reported in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Publix is now accepting site submissions, says West. The retailer seeks freestanding or shopping center locations measuring between 21,000 and 30,000 square feet, with roughly 150 dedicated parking spaces, if not more, and a minimum building width of 140 feet.

By comparison, rival Whole Foods’ stores typically measure between 25,000 and 50,000 square feet.

GreenWise wants to have about 19,000 households living within a three-mile radius and also seeks to serve a business-lunch crowd.

Of these new stores, in Florida, the first is scheduled for Tallahassee, in October, with the other two set for next year. The South Carolina store is to open in Mount Pleasant.