Alligator at a Florida Publix? Gator in parking lot ‘on his way to pick up a Pub Sub’

An alligator showed up outside a Publix grocery store in Pinellas Park, Florida, but that’s not the strangest part of the story, according to police.

“The officer responding to the area actually saw the alligator as it was walking down the sidewalk, and it was obeying all the traffic laws,” Pinellas Park Lieutenant Roxanne Pohl told McClatchy News.

“By the time my officer turned around to get back to the gator, it was in the parking lot of the Publix. ... We can only speculate that he was on his way to pick up a Pub Sub (sandwich).”

It happened Thursday, May 11, at the Publix on Park Boulevard, and the alligator never made it into the store.

A passerby called 911 at 6:40 p.m. to report “a 6-to-7 foot alligator in the area of 49th Street and Park Boulevard,” which Pohl noted is a busy intersection

Police corralled the reptile and called the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission to oversee a safe capture and removal. The gator was clearly “frustrated” at not being able to go about its business, Pohl said.

“It was ultimately relocated to a 30-acre lake in the area,” she said, adding that the situation was “absolutely funny.”

The department’s Facebook racked up hundreds of reactions and comments within hours, including some who called it “Florida sketch comedy.” Many talked about the chicken tender Pub Subs like they were a type of narcotic.

“We were at IHop last night and saw him/her. First time I ever seen a gator just roaming the streets,” Christine A. Burget wrote.

“People who have never had a Pub Sub will not understand. People who have had a Pub Sub know that this gator will not be deterred and will soon return,” Rob Peel posted.

“I understand Mr. Gator. The smell of that fried chicken is intoxicating!” Shari Simonin-Sharkey said.

Pinellas Park is about 20 miles southwest of downtown Tampa, along Florida’s Gulf Coast.

This story was originally published May 12, 2023 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Alligator at a Florida Publix? Gator in parking lot ‘on his way to pick up a Pub Sub’."