Publix is expanding again in the Charlotte region, as more grocers compete for a piece of the $10.4 billion market share.
The Lakeland, Florida, grocery chain will open a 50,000-square-foot store in Matthews, Charlotte-based Pappas Properties confirmed Wednesday. The store is expected to open by late 2027, Publix told The Charlotte Observer.
Publix will anchor the 82-acre Cadia Matthews mixed-use development at Stallings and Idlewild roads.
The grocery store will feature a full-service pharmacy with a drive-thru, Pappas said, and hire about 150 workers. Construction will begin next summer.
The expansion is the latest move in the hot grocery competition in the Charlotte region. Publix ranks fourth by market share behind retail giant Walmart, Matthews-based Harris Teeter and Salisbury-based Food Lion, respectively, according to sales tracking firm Chain Store Guide.
Publix opened its first North Carolina store in Ballantyne in 2014.
This year, Publix has opened two stores so far: Quail Commons on Carmel Commons Boulevard in south Charlotte and Clear Creek Crossings on Albemarle Road in east Charlotte.
Publix plans to open at least four more stores at The Arboretum, the 10 Tryon building in uptown, at the corner of Sharon and Colony roads in South Park and in Wesley Chapel in Union County.
The projects are “moving forward,” Publix spokesman Jared Glover said, but there are no opening dates scheduled yet.
Publix has over 1,390 stores with more than 27 in the Charlotte region, according to the Chain Store Guide.
Cadia Matthews will be a “walkable” development. It will include 570 residences with a variety of housing from single-family homes and townhomes to apartments and duplexes, 85,000 square feet of retail and 18,000 square feet of office space, according to Pappas.
Along with retail and dining, Cadia Matthews will feature a community park with a performance stage, plus walking, running and biking paths throughout the community.
Pappas Properties is known for other mixed-use developments, including Birkdale Village, Metropolitan, Berewick Town Center, Sharon Square and the Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute-anchored development among its 14 Charlotte projects and with several more in the pipeline.
Even as new grocery stores open in Charlotte, others are closing.
Just last week, specialty grocer Earth Fare confirmed it will be closing another Charlotte-area for a second time, citing “unacceptable” lease renewal terms. The store at 8885 Christenbury Parkway in Concord will close by mid-August.
It’s the second Earth Fare store to close in the Charlotte region this year.
In January, Charlotte’s only Earth Fare store, in Ballantyne at Torringdon Market shopping center, also closed citing the intense grocery store competition as one of the factors.
The closest Earth Fare stores to Charlotte are just over the border in South Carolina in Fort Mill and Rock Hill.
Still, there are 729 grocery stores in the Charlotte region, and more are on the way:
? Discount German grocer Aldi is expected to open a store at 9605 N. Tryon St. this summer.
? Sprouts Farmers Market will open its third Charlotte store on Aug. 22 at One NoDa Park, the Phoenix-based grocery chain told The Charlotte Observer. The mixed-use development by Avery Hall Southeast is on the corner of 36th and Tryon streets.
? Lowes Foods expects to open an Indian Land, S.C., store in September and a Waxhaw location early next year. Last August, Lowes opened a Concord store in Christenbury Village shopping center, near the Earth Fare that is closing.
? Next year, 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 stalled due to lack of funding.