Second time’s a charm? Grocery chain announces new plans for a Durham store.
It didn’t work out in 2017, but this time, it looks like Durham will finally get a Publix grocery store.
The Florida-based grocery chain announced this week that it will build a store in an area of Durham close to Research Triangle Park, at the corner of Ellis Road and Watchorn at the Ellis Crossing shopping center.
The new store will be 45,000 square feet and will employ about 150 workers, a spokesperson for Publix confirmed.
In 2017, a plan for a Publix store at the corner of Guess and Latta Roads in Durham was rejected by the Durham City Council.
“We are excited to continue our growth across the Triangle and will be ready to meet the needs of our new customers,” Publix spokesperson Jared Glover said in an email.
Publix has eight stores in the Triangle, but not without some resistance.
The Triangle’s first Publix, a Cary store at Amberly Place that opened in 2014, was opposed by some homeowners in the area, but zoning was ultimately approved by the Cary Town Council.
Publix nixed plans for a store in North Raleigh, at Falls of Neuse and Dunn roads, in 2014 after nearby homeowners campaigned against it. That area is now home to a housing community for seniors.
The Publix store in northwest Raleigh, at the intersection of Stickland and Leesville roads, also met with some resistance in the beginning, with neighbors worried about the increase in traffic. That store was approved by the Raleigh City Council in 2016 and opened in 2018.
More recently, Publix opened a store on Peace Street in downtown Raleigh in September 2020, which occupies the ground floor of a 12-story apartment complex. And in November, it opened a store in the Marketplace at Flowers Crossroads in Clayton.
Publix also has stores in Apex and Wake Forest, and more than 1,200 locations nationally.
