Publix Makes Knoxville Debut

LAKELAND, Fla. — Publix Super Markets on Thursday is set to open its first store in the Knoxville, Tenn., market.

The 56,000-square-foot store is located at the Northshore Town Center. Publix said the store would offer full-service meat and seafood departments, a café, and an event planning department to assist shoppers planning parties and other events.

Publix has operated stores in the Nashville, Tenn., market since 2002, but this marks its first store in Knoxville. A second store in the market is expected to open in January.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores is the No. 1 food retailer in Knoxville, with 11 stores (not counting Sam's Club) and 29.4% of the grocery market share, according to Metro Market Studies, Tucson, Ariz. Kroger Co., Cincinnati, and K-VA-T Food Stores, Abingdon, Va., are tied for No. 2 with a share of 21.2% each.

In Nashville, Publix is third behind Wal-Mart and Kroger with 16.2% of the market.

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