Publix opens new Florida store and takes over famed 'Disco Kroger' spot in Atlanta

Employee-owned grocery chain Publix Super Markets on Thursday opened its newest store in Melbourne, Florida.

The 48,387-square-foot grocery store is located at the Lake Washington Crossing Shopping Center at 3200 Lake Washington Road.

“We are excited to welcome our customers to their new store at the Lake Washington Crossing Shopping Center and look forward to providing them with the premier service and quality Publix is known for,” said Lindsey Willis, Publix media relations manager, in a statement.

Florida is not the only state for new upcoming store shopping center projects from Publix. Shopping mall operator Regency Centers Corp. confirmed with WGB this week that Publix is headed to Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood’s famed “Disco Kroger” location, which closed last year.

Publix will take over supermarket space that was part of Piedmont Peachtree Crossing and is now part of Buckhead Landing on Piedmont Road.

The Atlanta-area Kroger store was commonly referred to by residents as the “Disco Kroger,” in honor of the grocery store’s dance club neighbor.

As part of the center’s renovation, Regency Center will demolish the “Disco Kroger” and a new Publix store will be built.

Publix is one of the country's largest employee-owned grocers, with more than 240,000 associates on its payroll. The Lakeland, Florida-based grocery retailer operates 1,341 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Publix will soon enter the Kentucky market, with its first location in Louisville slated to open later this year.

Publix first made the announcement of its march into Kentucky in 2021. Last June, the grocery retailer broke ground in Louisville, at 2500 Terra Crossing Blvd., in The Terra Crossing Shopping Center, which will be the grocer’s first Kentucky location—an area with long-established market leaders Kroger and Walmart. The store is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter, Publix said in a statement.