Publix Super Markets: We're coming to NKY in 2025
It's official: Publix Super Markets confirmed rumored plans to open a store in Boone County.
Slated to open in 2025, the Lakeland, Florida retailer confirmed Wednesday it would open a nearly 56,000-square-foot store at Triple Crown Shopping Center at the southwest corner of Triple Crown Boulevard and Richwood Road. The plans include an adjacent liquor store.
The announcement is a challenge to supermarket giant Kroger in its Greater Cincinnati hometown where it rakes in nearly half the region’s $7.1 billion in grocery sales.
Is this the only Publix planned for NKY?
Given that Publix has announced plans to cluster thee stores in Louisville and two in Lexington, Wednesday's announcement begs the question if the retailer plans further locations in Northern Kentucky.
A Publix spokesman, Jared Glover, said not "currently."
"While we are proud to continue our growth across the Bluegrass State and share the Publix difference with more Kentuckians, we do not currently have any other plans to share at this time," Glover told The Enquirer.
Rumors that Publix would be creeping into Northern Kentucky have floated around for months. The Enquirer first reported about the possibility of a Publix at the Triple Crown Shopping Center back in March when site plans confirmed online rumors about plans to open a small grocery store on the empty lot.
Three other grocery stores, all between 48,387-56,000 square-feet, have been proposed in Cold Spring, Independence, and at a site that spans into Florence and Union.
The grocery stores at those latter two locations are also slated to have liquor stores onsite.
More: Publix in NKY? Fourth mystery grocery store proposed
Why does it matter?
Kroger is the region’s dominant grocer with more than 46% market share of the metro area, according to Tampa-based industry-tracker Chain Store Guide. Walmart controls nearly 25% of the region’s grocery sales through its namesake supercenters and its Sam’s Club subsidiary. Meijer is a distant No. 3 grocer with 9% market share.
More than three-quarters of Publix stores are in Florida and Georgia, where it is a major player. But in the last five years, more than half its new store openings have been in other southeast states: Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
In 2021, it disclosed plans to expand into an eighth state: Kentucky. In June 2022, the grocer broke ground on its first store in Louisville, scheduled to open late in 2023. A second Louisville store is slated to open in early 2024. Also in June 2022, Publix announced it had signed a lease for a third Kentucky store in Lexington, scheduled to open in late 2024. All three stores will be almost 56,000 square feet with pharmacies and an adjacent 3,200 square-foot liquor store.
In December, Publix announced plans for a fourth store – its third in Louisville – scheduled to open in mid-2024. Plans call for a 48,000-square-foot grocery and pharmacy and an adjacent liquor store. In March, Publix announced a second Lexington-area store.
For the latest on Kroger, P&G, Fifth Third Bank and Cincinnati business, follow @alexcoolidge on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Publix challenges Kroger in NKY starting in 2025
