Publix continues expansion in NC with opening date set for Huntersville store

Publix’s expansion in North Carolina continues as the grocer set the opening date next month for another Charlotte-area store.

Publix will open its Huntersville store on Feb. 8, company spokesman Jared Glover confirmed Thursday. The 48,387-square-foot store will anchor North Creek Village at 15010 Village Crossing Road, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

The store is expected to hire about 130 full- and part-time employees.

Based in Lakeland, Florida, Publix has 22 stores in the Charlotte region. Publix opened its first North Carolina store in Ballantyne in early 2014. It competes with other North Carolina chains like Harris Teeter, based in Matthews and Food Lion in Salisbury, as well as German discount grocers Lidl and Aldi, and Asheville specialty grocer Earth Fare.

More Publix grocery stores opening

Publix also is planning six other store openings in the Charlotte region:

▪ A 28,000-square-foot store at the 10 Tryon building on the northwest corner of Tryon and Ninth streets in uptown.

▪ A 55,000-square-foot store with a drive-thru and a proposed private drive at 11525 Carmel Commons.

▪ Publix also plans to open at Arboretum, at the southeast corner of Providence and Pineville-Matthews roads.

▪ A 46,000-square-foot store at the Clear Creek Crossings development on the northwest corner of Albemarle and Rocky River Church roads.

▪ A 48,000-square-foot store at Harris Farms Shopping Center, on the northwest corner of Coddle Creek Highway and Kistler Farm Road, in Mooresville. The store is expected to open in 2024.

▪ A 60,000-square-foot store on the southwest corner of Sharon and Colony roads at The Colony as part of a redevelopment plan in SouthPark.

Publix is Charlotte’s No. 4 grocer by market share, according to industry publication Chain Store Guide. Supermarket competitors Walmart and Harris Teeter, owned by The Kroger Co., are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, according to the report.

Grocery store competition

These grocers also have recently opened or are planning to open in the Charlotte region:

▪ This month, Lowes Foods said it will open a 50,887-square-foot store at Kellswater Commons in Kannapolis. The Winston-Salem-based grocer also will open a 52-000-square-foot store at Christenbury Village shopping center in Concord this year. Last year, Lowes Foods debuted its first-of-its-kind store in Huntersville in the former Earth Fare site at 14021 Boren St. with a food-hall style design and an entertainment area.

▪ In December, international grocer Super G Mart opened its third and largest North Carolina store at 10500 Centrum Parkway in Pineville. A food hall will open in late spring, plus there will be a full-service restaurant and more retail.

▪ In November, Food Rocket, a California-based online grocer, made its East Coast debut operating from within two Circle K stores in Charlotte at 8505 S. Tryon St. and 8008 Harris Station Blvd. It offers delivery within a half hour for a 6-mile radius.

▪ In November, Salisbury-based Food Lion opened a store in Cleveland, following its June store opening at 5939 Weddington Road, in a former Harris Teeter location in Charlotte. In January 2022, Food Lion opened at 2201 West W. T. Harris Blvd., also in a former Harris Teeter location, in Charlotte.

▪ In May, discount German-grocer Lidl opened its 10th Charlotte-area store at 11200 Carmel Commons Boulevard.

This story was originally published January 26, 2023 at 10:21 AM with the headline "Publix continues expansion in NC with opening date set for Huntersville store."