Publix, Hy-Vee and other grocery stores are opening to Louisville. Here’s when and where

In September 2021, Publix made a big announcement: It would expand to Kentucky, its eighth state of operation and nearly its northernmost location.

A few months later, Iowa-based Hy-Vee revealed plans to build its first Kentucky store in southeast Jefferson County.

And since then, Publix has shared plans to bring at least two more stores to Louisville.

Not to be left out, Kroger, which dominates the Louisville market with nearly 30 stores, has broken ground on a new supermarket directly across the street from an announced Publix.

These are only some of the grocery developments in the works in Louisville, all of which are positioned to open in the eastern part of Jefferson County.

“We keep seeing a slew of economic development but in respect to grocers especially, it’s possible they look at Kentucky and they see there isn’t much competition outside of Kroger and Walmart,” said Steve McClain, spokesman for the Kentucky Grocers and Convenience Store Association. “That’s the bulk of the area, they probably have 75% or more of the market in the state. So there’s not a lot of competition and it’s an attractive market to get into for them.”

Here’s a look at where both new-to-market and established grocery store brands are expanding in Louisville.

2024 is a big year for Publix in Kentucky

The Florida-based grocer with a loyal following and rave reviews for its sub sandwiches is on the cusp of opening its first Kentucky location on Louisville’s east end.

Its first Louisville store, 2500 Terra Crossing Blvd, is set to open on Jan. 10.

The company’s CEO Todd Jones has called the northward expansion a natural extension of a growing southeast footprint.

"We’re pretty calculated in what we do," Jones told the Courier Journal in 2022. "Kentucky was a very nice contiguous state for us, from a geographic standpoint."

He said Publix received "numerous customer letters" from Kentuckians asking for a store in the Bluegrass State.

"So that’s always a great lead indicator when people are asking you to please come serve the state that they live in," he said.

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Outside of Louisville, Publix is also planning two stores in Lexington and another in Walton, Kentucky, 20 miles southeast of Covington.

Asked about how Publix chose where to locate within Jefferson County, Jones cited population growth as a key factor.

“Sometimes it takes us a little longer to get into established areas. Doesn’t mean we won’t be there," he said last year. "We’ll continue to look for sites in all of Kentucky."

These various developments are nearly all on the county’s far eastern edge, a more affluent and white part of the community that’s seeing population growth.

The announcements leave out south and west Louisville neighborhoods, areas with elevated poverty levels and higher concentrations of non-white residents who have fewer choices of full-service grocery stores.

A 2019 Courier Journal series exploring food access in Louisville found a series of grocery store closures last decade forced lower-income residents to spend more money and time to get fresh food, despite the work of many organizations to help alleviate food insecurity.

New grocers mean more competition, choice

Two planned Louisville Publix locations, 100 Flat Rock Road (near the Shelby County line) and 10005 Ballardsville Road, not far from Norton Commons, face different levels of nearby competition.

The future Flat Rock Road store has no other nearby supermarkets while the Ballardsville Road grocery is coming to a crowded grocery landscape.

Most immediately is a newly announced Kroger being built directly across the street at 10010 Ballardsville Road. The Cincinnati-based company filed plans with Louisville Metro Government in March 2023 to build the 66,000-square-foot supermarket.

The $32 million project will include a Starbucks, fuel center and drive-thru wine and spirits shop.

“We look forward to expanding into the Louisville area with this exciting storefront that includes new designs, and a larger fresh department to give every customer a full, fresh and friendly shopping experience,” Kroger said in a statement at the time of the October 2023 groundbreaking.

McClain, of the grocers association, said Kroger is likely trying to compete with the out-of-town newcomer, building on its 27-store dominant footprint across Jefferson County.

“That’s the nature of the business, that they’re not wanting to cede any of their market territory," he said. "I think that’s why you’re seeing Kroger announcing plans that they’re going to build.”

Within 3 miles are a variety of other large grocery stores, including Costco Wholesale, an in-development location of The Fresh Market at Paddock Shops, Meijer, Walmart, Aldi, and two Krogers, on Brownsboro and Westport roads.

Morgan LaCroix, vice president of real estate services firm JLL Louisville, said the firm weighs many factors when helping grocers find space to expand, including the grocer’s business plan, customer demographics, accessibility, and traffic.

JLL’s U.S. Retail Grocery Outlook, released earlier this year, found that Publix was the third fastest-growing grocer in 2022, adding 25 new stores and nearly 1.2 million square feet of new space.

“When grocery retailers are looking to expand in other markets, they often look for opportunity,” she said. “Where opportunity lies in these stores is in offering the consumer a diverse experience. It allows them to take market share from the competition by offering convenience, a variety of price ranges, and selection of product.”

Midwestern mainstay Hy-Vee also sets sights on Louisville

Publix isn’t the only new-to-market grocer to eye Louisville for growth plans. Hy-Vee, founded in 1930 in Iowa, officially announced in February 2022 its intention to open its first Kentucky supermarket in Jefferson County.

The company has purchased about 12 acres at the largely undeveloped SouthPointe Commons retail center, 7405 Bardstown Road.

Deed records show Hy-Vee purchased the land in March 2023 for nearly $23 million.

In its initial announcement, the company said it intends to build a 150,000-square-foot store. Originally intended to open in 2023, the planned Louisville location does not currently have a construction timeline, said Hy-Vee spokeswoman Nola Aigner Davis.

“We still plan on building,” she wrote in a brief email. No explanation was given as to the delayed development timeline.

Hy-Vee operates about 280 stores and employs some 93,000 people across eight states: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Its largest footprint is in Iowa, where it is headquartered.

The planned expansion to Louisville is part of a larger move to expand to multiple southeastern states.

In December 2021, The Des Moines Register obtained an internal video of then-Hy-Vee CEO Randy Edeker announcing plans to build a distribution facility in Nashville, Tennessee, which would service new stores in Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

The company most recently expanded in 2009, to Wisconsin.

“You take a look at this map and you see this massive hub of over 50 cities of over 150,000 that are within five hours of Nashville, Tennessee, and that is the strategy that we are starting to think about,” Edeker said in the video, referencing a map of the southeast. “We could open a new distribution facility in Nashville, Tennessee, or that vicinity, and then launch a dozen or so stores over the next two years in that market.”

None of the locations in other states have yet opened. A review of local news outlets suggests development work is in progress at multiple sites, though groundbreaking work has yet to begin.

Since the Publix announcement, another new-to-market grocery, Massachusetts-based BJ's Wholesale Club, has filed plans to replace the Sears department store anchor at Jefferson Mall on Outer Loop.

North Carolina-based The Fresh Market also has begun work on a second Louisville location, replacing the former Barnes & Noble storefront at Paddock Shops, off Brownsboro Road.

LaCroix said the addition of “premium grocers” can have a ripple effect in the surrounding area, including higher neighborhood values when widely known chains move in.

“This expansion kind of creates a ripple effect of new stores added to the region as well as other retailers initiating expansion into the market,” she said.

The influx of more options in the coming months and years should be good for consumers, McClain said, as competition among grocers typically means more choice and can lead to lower prices.

"So it'll be interesting to see what happens when all these open up," he said.

Growth & development reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at mglowicki@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4000 or on Twitter @mattglo.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Here's when Publix, Hy-Vee, Kroger stores will open in Louisville