Publix expands into Kentucky

Publix has entered its eight state of operation.

The grocer has opened its first store in Kentucky, at the Terra Crossing Shopping Center in Louisville. The 55,701-sq.-ft. location includes a drive-thru Publix Pharmacy and an adjacent 3,200-sq.-ft. Publix Liquors offering beer, wine and spirits. It is the first Publix Liquors outside of Florida.

Five additional Publix stores in the Bluegrass State are in the works. The locations include Lexington, Walton and additional sites in Louisville. The company will create over 900 new jobs across the six Kentucky stores.

The new Publix at Terra Crossing features a fresh pizza kitchen and a Pours area offering kombucha, acai bowls and smoothies that customers can enjoy while shopping in-store or relaxing in the space. Other features  include custom subs, a food and soup bar, scratch bakery and on-site meat cutters.

“Today is a great day for Publix as we open our first store in the Bluegrass State,” said Kevin Murphy, who took the reins as Publix CEO on Jan.1, 2024. “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. 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.”

With a commitment to alleviating hunger, Publix’s impact extends beyond its stores. In celebration of the grand opening, the company donated 40,000 pounds of produce to Dare to Care, a Feeding America partner food bank in Louisville. This donation brings the total produce provided to Dare to Care to more than 2 million pounds since 2021, when the company first announced its expansion into Kentucky.

Publix is the largest employee-owned company in the U.S. with more than 250,000 employees. It currently operates 1,361 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky.