Regional grocer Publix (Lakeland, Fla.) has opened its first store in Kentucky, marking its eighth state of operation. Located at the Terra Crossing Shopping Center on Louisville’s northeast side, the brand’s first locale in the commonwealth features a 55,701-square-foot store with a drive-thru Publix Pharmacy and an adjacent 3200-square-foot Publix Liquors offering beer, wine and spirits.
“We look forward to introducing Kentucky customers to our premier service and delivering on our promise to be a place ‘where shopping is a pleasure,’” said Publix CEO Kevin Murphy. “As our Kentucky customers will come to know, they can count on us to deliver high-quality products that can only be found at Publix. Whether it is our famous Pub subs, Publix ice creams, bakery cakes, delicious ready-to-enjoy meals or anything in between, we offer some of the best food around.”
The first Louisville store features a fresh pizza kitchen and a Pours area, offering coffee, wine, beer, kombucha, acai bowls and smoothies that customers can enjoy while shopping in-store or relaxing in the venue.
Following Terra Crossing, at least one more store is slated for Louisville, along with locales in Lexington and Walton. According to reports from Cincinnati-area media, the grocer is also eying locales in Northern Kentucky, a populous region just south of the Ohio River. That would put it in the corporate backyard of Kroger Co. (Cincinnati), which dominates that metro region’s grocery market.
Publix is the largest employee-owned company in the nation and operates 1361 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky.