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Will Publix ever come to Charlotte?

atownrocks

By atownrocks
in Charlotte Coffee House

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charlotte_bon_vivant Whistle-Stop

charlotte_bon_vivant

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Publix stores in S. FL are usually very old. My MIL showed me the one she worked for in high school and she graduated in the early 60s. It was still open...

The "new" Publix carries more gourmet, natural and organic foods than they used to. I can get the same items I buy at Publix that I can at HT. The only difference is the price. Publix is simply way cheaper. I mean, why pay more for morels when I don't have to? ;) One staple I buy is La Croix water. I replaced my daily habit of drinking a 12 pack of Coke every day with La Croix. Well, a 12 pack of La Croix is $2.89 at Publix, but over $4 at HT. As nice as HT is, they do rip people off. I suspect that there are some people who feel special paying more for the same items. (No one here...) But I agree HT is a nice store. It's the only one I shop regularly in Charlotte.

Oh, Publix also has some new store design concept where the stores have two floors. There's one in Tallahassee like that but the last time I was there they only used the upper floor for cafe seating. And that's another thing: Publix's counter service deli is way better than HT's. HT sells food that's practically inedible. For such a great store, it's a shame their deli is Wal-Mart quality.

I love Wegman's. I swear I'd kill any one of you guys to have a Wegman's in Charlotte. :P

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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i think grocery stores are the one place where regional businesses should remain. it is GOOD that florida loves their publix, and coastal south carolina loves their piggy wiggly and upstate sc loves their bilo and charlotte loves their harris teeter, and western nc loves their ingles and foothills nc loves their lowe's and so on and so on.

(consider any errors, omissions or imprecision rhetorical)

It is good to have a little healthy competition, but in my perspective, grocery store chains should rule their home market, be a little present a state or two away, but otherwise stop.

Food markets should have roots... they should have relationships with regional farmers and be a source of pride for communities. They should be long time and long term members of local life. I don't mind buying many things from multinational corps... but food should always be a local deal (even if some stuff comes from far).

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fulcrumsf Whistle-Stop

fulcrumsf

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I live in Florida.  Many of us would do anything to get a Harris Teeter in my city.  Harris Teeter kicks Publix's ass.  Wait until you get World Foods. You will be perfectly happy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree, I didn't think Publix had anything different than what we have in the grocery stores down here, but then again I didn't really do any comparison shopping while in FLA. Never heard of World Foods, but I do know Charlotte will have a Whole Foods in the Elizabeth Project near CPCC. I liked Whole Foods alot when I lived in California, they were a bit pricey but had more organic foods and locally supported products. I also wished Charlotte had a Trader Joes.

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bork Whistle-Stop

bork

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I agree, I didn't think Publix had anything different than what we have in the grocery stores down here, but then again I didn't really do any comparison shopping while in FLA. Never heard of World Foods, but I do know Charlotte will have a Whole Foods in the Elizabeth Project near CPCC. I liked Whole Foods alot when I lived in California, they were a bit pricey but had more organic foods and locally supported products. I also wished Charlotte had a Trader Joes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Trade Joes would be very nice...

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DigitalSky City

DigitalSky

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This was also the reason Hannaford pulled out of the Charlotte market.  I thought Hannaford was a really nice grocery store.  Its good to see something different in the Charlotte market besides the big regulars sometimes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I miss Hannaford... I liked having them here

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DigitalSky City

DigitalSky

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I thought Hannaford was bought by Food Lion, but I could be mistaken.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes they were bought by Food Lion.

But here's an FYI to what happened to Hannaford stores in Charlotte:

*1700 E Woodlawn >> been demolished, now home of Park Towne Village shopping cntr

*10120 Johnston Rd >> Now a Food Lion store with a new look (Johnston Plaza, formerly known as Hannaford Plaza)

*8809 JW Clay Blvd >> Now a Sam's Club store (University Place)

*5475 Central Ave >> Still vacant/abandoned (Eastland Mall)

*7352 Rea Road >> Now Harris Teeter (Stonecrest)

*2310 Matthews Township Pkwy >> Now a Hobby Lobby store

correct me if i'm wrong or missing any former Charlotte hannaford locations thanks

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bobliocatt City

bobliocatt

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Everyone could use a new Publix, especially like the smaller urban stores that have been popping up all over Florida.

Anyway, if they ever expand into NC, it will probably be at the expense of an existing chain, being bought out. Because when they expand, they normally open multiple locations to capture a nice share of the local market, as quick as possible.

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Gastonite Unincorporated Area

Gastonite

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I thought Hannaford was bought by Food Lion, but I could be mistaken.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Your right, my mistake. I dont think though that they were doing too well, hence the buyout from Food Lion.

The Hannaford in Gastonia got converted to Carolina Harley-Davidson, I think its one of the chains largest dealerships on the east coast.

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monsoon Gigalopolis

monsoon

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Anyway, if they ever expand into NC, it will probably be at the expense of an existing chain, being bought out.  Because when they expand, they normally open multiple locations to capture a nice share of the local market, as quick as possible.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, this was Bilo's tactic. They bought all the former Krogers and converted them to Bilo's. sans cows on the roof.

It should be noted that was Bilo's second coming into the Charlotte. Bilo pulled out of the Charlotte market in the very early 80s. Then returned after buying out kroger here.

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Miesian Corners City

Miesian Corners

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Who knew people were so passionate about their grocery stores? I don't think you'll see Publix here for a while, unless they buy Winn-Dixie stores when they start selling them off.

The other reason you probably won't see Publix is because of Wal-Mart SuperCenters. They're killing everybody. According to the Shelby Report, a supermarket trade rag, there were no SuperCenters in the Charlotte MSA in 2002. There are now 10. In that short period of time, they have consumed nearly 18% of the market. By contrast, Harris Teeter has 43 metro stores and controls 28%.

Not only is Wal-Mart putting downtowns out of business, it's one of the main reasons Winn-Dixie went bankrupt.

One more thing, with Target in the food biz now, look for more pressure on local grocers. It's gonna get ugly.

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monsoon Gigalopolis

monsoon

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No doubt. When the Super Walmart & Super Target opened at Exit 36, the fairly new upscale Harris Teeter (located by Fat Boys restaurant ) there closed down. Its now an empty box I believe.

Some of Winn Dixie's problems are of its own making. They tried to compete against both foodlion and harris teeter at the same time. Its really hard to serve both markets in the same format. They ended up running off a lot of customers. They also built expensive new stores in locations that would not support such a store. One notible case was their Super whatever store they built at the Tryon Mall at Sugar Creek & Tryon. I was amazed when they did this as that was a pretty crime ridden area and the rest of the mall was in bad decline. That store stayed open less than 5 years. Decisions like that certainly didn't help Winn Dixie's bottom line.

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charlotte_bon_vivant Whistle-Stop

charlotte_bon_vivant

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Winn Dixie- They have problems in most of their markets. Even in their hometown- Jacksonville, they can't compete. I think it's mostly due to the absolutely crappy merchandise they sell. Like, they'll leave produce on the shelves until it sells. No matter how moldy and rotten it gets.

Super Mal-Wart (hee)- Charlotte is one of the few cities where they've been able to build intown. For years now, they've been trying to open their new concept store the Neighborhood Market in Atlanta, but that's a very tight market with limited space. They have several in Tampa, but mostly on the outskirts of the city limits. While I don't like to shop at SWM, I do occasionally. My experience with them hasn't been good though. At least not here. In NC, SWM is totally nasty with spoiled food all over the floor. A couple weeks ago, I went to SWM in Alpharetta and couldn't believe how much cleaner and nicer it was.

The southern grocery market, in general, is very tight and very competitive. From what I read, everyone wants a piece of it. But wanting and having are two different things. Southerners also tend to be more brand loyal. If we find a store we like, we'll shop them everyhere we go. A lot of non-southerners have picked up this habit as well.

Trader Joe's has ambitions of moving into the south. There was an article in the AJC (Atlanta) several months ago about this. While, they have no firm plans of opening a southern store, they do have their eye on this market. I predict Charlotte and other cities in the south will see TJ in a few years.

Oh, there's an old series of articles from the AJC (2002) that detailed the metro grocery market and how Publix was killing Kroger. When Harris Teeter left town, Kroger bought up most of the old spaces trying to cut Publix off. But Publix built new buildings in better locations instead. And Publix's store on Piedmont was a coup for them. It centralized in a gentrified neighborhood, so it's within walking distance of everyone in the Renaissance neighborhood and some of Midtown. Of course, they have ANOTHER store around the corner on Ponce. :lol:

Anyway, I've talked way too much about Atlanta in the Charlotte forum, but there are _a lot_ of similarities between the two cities.

BTW- I'm obsessed with retail in case you didn't know. :silly:

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dwtnc Unincorporated Area

dwtnc

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I don't mean to start a rumor, but Publix or Kroger could enter (re-enter in Kroger's case) by acquiring Harris Teeter, which is considered in the industry to be a buyable entity. The holding company is diversified, and recent improvements in store quality, closing of smaller stores, and vacating noncore markets paints a picture that they are "prettying it up for sale".

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teshadoh Burg

teshadoh

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I don't mean to start a rumor, but Publix or Kroger could enter (re-enter in Kroger's case) by acquiring Harris Teeter, which is considered in the industry to be a buyable entity.  The holding company is diversified, and recent improvements in store quality, closing of smaller stores, and vacating noncore markets paints a picture that they are "prettying it up for sale".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Blasphemy! I regret tremendously the day Harris Teeter left Atlanta - I still have my Harris Teeter tote bag I use for groceries (being the urban granola eater I am ;)). Harris Teeter is the best full size grocery store - period.

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jb4563 Whistle-Stop

jb4563

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Yes they were bought by Food Lion.

But here's an FYI to what happened to Hannaford stores in Charlotte:

*1700 E Woodlawn >> been demolished, now home of Park Towne Village shopping cntr

*10120 Johnston Rd >> Now a Food Lion store with a new look (Johnston Plaza, formerly known as Hannaford Plaza)

*8809 JW Clay Blvd >> Now a Sam's Club store (University Place)

*5475 Central Ave >> Still vacant/abandoned (Eastland Mall)

*7352 Rea Road >> Now Harris Teeter (Stonecrest)

*2310 Matthews Township Pkwy >> Now a Hobby Lobby store

correct me if i'm wrong or missing any former Charlotte hannaford locations thanks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The University Hannaford became a Dick's Sporting Goods. You can still see the old Hannaford crosswalks that led to the set of doors on each side of the new Dick's entrance.

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