Grocery beat: Is Publix opening second Asheville location?

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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publix_asheville_march_2015Loyal reader Tiger, our resident grocery expert, offers up a couple of interesting tidbits.

First, it appears that Publix is working on a second store location in Asheville. He points to this post regarding a Publix project constructiondatacompany.com, which is new construction. This store would be 50,000 square feet. As we know, Publix is preparing to open its first Asheville store on Hendersonville Road this month. I don’t have an exact opening date yet.

Tiger followed up with this note regarding Lowe’s Foods:

Last Friday, Lowe’s Foods announced it is entering the Greenville, South Carolina area and exiting the Gastonia, North Carolina area with the closure of two stores. It is looking to ether three unidentified new markets.

Lowe’s Foods has one site confirmed in Greer, another site in the Verdae area and is looking for a location in Greenville’s downtown.

Lowe’s Foods had a brief presence in Asheville. Its Hendersonville Road store was one of six Harris Teeter stores acquired in an asset swap in 2012. As of Wednesday, 1 April, five of these stores in Asheville, Gastonia, Morganton and Shelby will have closed. The Asheville store was open briefly until its closure in December 2012.

I wonder if one of the three unidentified markets would be Asheville and western North Carolina.

Lowe’s Foods has not done well in the Charlotte region. It appears all of its stores lack pharmacies, and few stores have fueling stations. Its meat, produce and delicatessen service departments and beer and wine section have enhanced specialty services. I am skeptical why it would leapfrog a failed region to enter the upstate South Carolina, which is dominated by Bi-Lo, Ingle’s, Publix and Walmart and is about to see Kroger/Harris Teeter in 2016.

Respectfully submitted;

Tiger

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

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15 Comments

  1. FDR March 11, 2015

    I agree with weavervilleman. The Publix bakery and deli are top notch and are pleasing on the eye. Ingles is trying to pull something together but I think the employees are lacking customer service training and sometimes seem down right hostile when it comes to helping you. This only applies to the above mentioned departments at Ingles. The rest seem great. This is where Publix will dominate. The one on one with a customer in those departments will keep people coming back.

    Reply
    1. afh March 19, 2015

      This is Asheville customer service is always lacking.

      Reply
  2. Charlie March 10, 2015

    I shopped at Publix often when I lived in Florida. It is an excellent grocery chain with high quality produce and deli meats, very good in-house brands, and quite tasty house-made soups/meals/sandwiches. What really distinguishes Publix is their customer service, which I always found to be above and beyond that of other grocery chains. This will be an excellent addition to the area.

    Reply
  3. Tiger March 10, 2015

    In regards to Publix #1473, it should be opening in April.

    Publix will be holding a job fair in Greenville next weekend to replenish vacancies by associates relocating to store #1473 and other new stores across the Charlotte Division.

    Reply
  4. AVL LVR March 10, 2015

    I think Tiger works or has worked for Ingles. Anyways, it is not the PINNACLE POINT Publix which is Construction Report #: NC Z031400825. The new one is Construction Report #: NC Z012800241. Although it says Asheville and Buncombe County, I think it is actually the new Hendersonville Publix announced in January. Why? Because the websites lists main city as the the area. Search Asheville and you’ll get a bid for a NEW RESIDENCE HALL @ BREVARD COLLEGE (Asheville, NC) which we know Brevard College is not building a new residence hall in Asheville/Buncombe County.

    The Publix in Greenville/TRest is unremarkable. The new Asheville location is hidden behind some building and lacking aesthetically. At least use the triangle roof to let natural light in.

    Reply
    1. Tiger March 10, 2015

      I would disagree the report is for the new Publix in Hendersonville. All tracts needed for the new store are under several ownerships. A single owner would have to acquire the necessary tracts before proceeding with plans for relocating existing tenants, demolition of the structures on the tracts, and new construction of Publix and any additional tenants.

      Reply
      1. AVL LVR March 10, 2015

        As far as I know Publix in HVL is a go. Maybe it is something Jason can find out. We know for certain that Jersey Mikes Subs and Great Clips are confirmed as tenants of Pinnacle Point (Publix plaza). Really nothing special so far.

        Reply
  5. Sean Lally March 10, 2015

    So, I’ve been to some Publix before and it seems like a pretty unremarkable store. Does it have anything that sets it apart from other stores? I haven’t done major shopping there so don’t know how it’s priced. Seems like if it were close to my home that would be it’s only distinguishing characteristic.

    ?

    Reply
    1. Tiger March 10, 2015

      Publix is a standard supermarket that provides the necessities of food and pharmacy. Most of its stores are between 45,000 to 55,000 square feet, smaller when compared to the new 80,000 square feet stores Ingle’s has. Publix does not have a loyalty card that Bi-Lo, Food Lion, Harris Teeter and Ingle’s have.

      Publix has an interesting “About Us” section: http://corporate.publix.com/about-publix

      Publix should be reaching some important milestones soon: its 1,100th store and 1,000th pharmacy.

      Reply
      1. Sean Lally March 11, 2015

        Thanks.

        Reply
    2. jenni March 10, 2015

      1. Service…Publix is known for their incredible customer service. In my experience, well above any other chain super market.

      2.They don’t have a “loyalty” card program. You don’t have to whip out a card or enter a phone number to receive savings.

      3. Greenwise products: their own brand of sustainable and health conscious products that span all areas of the grocery store.

      4. Their bakery is pretty darn great!

      Reply
      1. Sean Lally March 11, 2015

        Good info, thanks!

        Reply
    3. weavervilleman March 10, 2015

      Publix unlike local grocery stores like walmart and ingles, have a more high superiority of customer service. The food tastes much better and the prices arent all that bad either. There are a TON of BOGO sales too.

      Reply
      1. Sean Lally March 11, 2015

        Thanks.

        Reply
    4. Doc March 12, 2015

      Publix is owned by the employees of the company.

      Reply

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