It depends on the location, I was referred by a friend. I talked to his boss and he did not have a position for me at that store so he sent me to his sons store up the street. I walked in, he took a good look at me and says I'm hiring him and hit me with a swab test. However, I interviewed at a different location that I ended up not taking because the drive was too far and it was for a different position that I didn't want. This interview was about 30 minutes and was very very intense. He went into far detail about "why publix?" What do you know about publix? Etc

I applied on their portal and went into the store to introduce myself with the manager. I had an interview set up for the following day. Very easy process. It is good to introduce with the store manager and the department manager you went to work in.