South Charlotte Publix to open soon, as grocery chain pushes expansion plan
Publix is ready to debut its next grocery store in south Charlotte, its third opening this year.
The Publix at Arboretum at 7933 Providence Road will open at 7 a.m. Sept. 20, the Florida-based chain said Wednesday. The store will hire about 140 full- and part-time employees.
The more than 50,000-square-foot store will be its 26th in the Charlotte market.
It will be Publix’s third store opening in Charlotte this year. In May, Publix opened a 47,000-square-foot store at 12925 Albemarle Road in east Charlotte. And in April, Publix opened a nearly 56,000-square-foot grocery store at 11525 Carmel Commons Blvd.
Publix is among the competitors vying for the $10.4 billion grocery market sector in the Charlotte region. Publix ranks fourth by market share behind Walmart, Matthews-based Harris Teeter and Salisbury-based Food Lion, respectively, according to sales tracking firm Chain Store Guide.
Publix isn’t the only grocer opening a store this month.
Aldi, the discount German grocer, is having a grand opening for its University City store at 9609 N. Tryon St. on Thursday, Sept. 4, according to the company. And just last month, Sprouts opened its third Charlotte store at 110 E. 36th St. in NoDa to long lines.
The competition has also led to some store closings.
In January, the Asheville-based Earth Fare closed its Ballantyne store, citing the intense competition as one of the factors. In July, Earth Fare said it was closing its 8885 Christenbury Parkway store in Concord for a second time, citing “unacceptable” lease renewal terms.
Publix has more stores planned in Charlotte area
Publix has been rapidly expanding in Charlotte since opening its first North Carolina store in Ballantyne in 2014.
Last October, Publix debuted its more than 50,000-square-foot store at 1254 Coddle Creek Highway in Mooresville.
Publix has at least four more stores planned in the Charlotte region:
- A 50,325-square-foot grocery store in Wesley Chapel will open on the southeast corner of Weddington and Waxhaw Indian Trail roads in Union County.
- A 28,000-square-foot store at the 10 Tryon building on the northwest corner of Tryon and Ninth streets in uptown is planned.
- A 68,000-square-foot store at the corner of Sharon and Colony roads in SouthPark.
- A 50,000-square-foot store in Matthews will anchor the 82-acre Cadia Matthews mixed-use development at Stallings and Idlewild roads.
The Matthews store is expected open in late 2027. Publix does not have updates or opening dates for the other stores.
More grocery stores opening in the Charlotte region
Still,There are 729 grocery stores in the Charlotte region, and more are on the way:
- In September, Lowes Foods expects to open an Indian Land, S.C., store. A Waxhaw location will open early next year. Last August, Lowes opened a Concord store in Christenbury Village shopping center, near the Earth Fare that is closing.
- In 2026, Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans is expected to make its Charlotte debut with a 110,000-square-foot grocery store on the east side of Ballantyne in south Charlotte. Construction is underway.
- In 2027, Harris Teeter will open two 60,000-square-foot stores in York County, South Carolina — a Fort Mill store on Fort Mill Parkway and one in Lake Wylie at 5366 Hwy. 55 E., according to The Herald.
- Trader Joe’s specialty grocer will open its fourth Charlotte-area store in Matthews.
- California-based grocer Spangler’s will build an 8,000-square-foot store at Kohler and Statesville avenues, north of uptown.
- Historic West End Partners is planning a 15,000-square-foot cooperative grocery store in partnership with Weaver Street Market, which has four stores in the Raleigh region.
- The West Boulevard Coalition is opening Charlotte’s first cooperative grocery store, Three Sisters Market. The full-service grocery store will debut in an area that has been without a traditional supermarket for over 30 years. The opening was expected this year but has stalled due to lack of funding.
This story was originally published September 3, 2025 at 11:43 AM with the headline "South Charlotte Publix to open soon, as grocery chain pushes expansion plan."
