In this week's Tampa Bay Business Journal segment, editor Alexis Muellner discusses the most popular Business Journal articles of 2015, including stories on Publix, restaurants, the University of Tampa and the University of South Florida.
The of the most popular articles published by the Business Journal in 2015 were about Publix. Stories included a merger rumor between the Lakeland-based grocer and Whole Foods; the limited edition NFL subs Publix rolled out; the record sales the company rang up in 2014; and the possibility of a new Publix location in downtown Tampa.
"It makes some sense," said Muellner. "Publix is a home-grown, Lakeland-based company that has employees that own part of the company and people watch the grocery market very, very closely."
Alexis added part of Publix's charm is they continue to revolutionize how to appeal to changing clientele.
Business Journal readers also paid a lot of attention to articles about restaurants in 2015.
The newspaper's most popular story was one about Burger King that went viral on Yahoo. A local Burger King franchisee help popularize the dual-vehicle drive-thru lane system that is now catching on chain-wide.
Other popular food-related stories included Richard Gonzmart's work to bring back the Goody Goody restaurant and the opening of the Hofbräuhaus St. Petersburg.
Stories about higher education also turned out to be very popular this year, especially ones discussing how both the University of South Florida and University of Tampa were better than Harvard University.
The study by GraduatePrograms.com ranked UT's MBA program as the best in county for the money, over Harvard, the University of Notre Dame, and Duke University.
Top Management Degrees ranked USF's Muma College of Business number one in the country for its Doctorate in Business Management program. Muma ranked ahead of the prestigious Harvard University Business School and University of Florida Warrington College of Business.
"Given all the folks who went to USF and UT that stay in Tampa Bay and are part of this community it makes sense," noted Muellner regarding the popularity of those articles.
Here are the top ten most popular articles published in 2015 by the Tampa Bay Business Journal:
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Bay area Burger King franchisee pioneers drive-thru design; it's catching on chain-wide
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Updated list of University of South Florida salaries, 2014
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Publix in 2014: Whole Foods merger rumors, skinny chickens and the rise of organics
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Updated USF salaries database, 2014-2015
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Publix rolls out limited edition NFL subs in Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville and Atlanta
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Publix Super Markets rings up record $30.6 billion in sales in 2014, plans to invest $1B in 2015
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University of Tampa's business school beats Harvard, Notre Dame among best valued
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Kroger looking to bag a major acquisition — could buying Bi-Lo/Winn-Dixie land it in Florida?
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Hyde Park Cafe, once one of South Tampa's hottest nightclubs is facing $200,000 in delinquent sales tax and unemployment tax
- Top 25 highest-paying jobs in Tampa Bay
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