Publix opens new store in Georgia 2023-04-05

Publix Super Markets on Wednesday opened its newest Georgia location at Oak Grove in Athens, about 70 miles northeast of Atlanta.

The 48,387-square-foot supermarket at 5345 Jefferson Road is part of the employee-owned retailer’s expansion outside its home state of Florida. There are 204 Publix locations in Georgia, according to the grocery retailer’s website.

“We are very excited for the opening of our newest Publix at Oak Grove,” said Nicole Krauss, Publix media relations manager, in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to provide premier service and quality products to longtime customers and welcome new ones from the community of Athens.”

The Publix store offers departments for grocery, dairy, frozen food, seafood, meat and produce, as well as a full-service bakery department and pharmacy. The new location will also offer contactless pay options and grocery delivery via Instacart and pharmacy delivery.

On Tuesday,  the employee-owned grocery chain was recognized on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list for the 26th consecutive year. Publix is one of only four companies to have been recognized every year since the list’s inception in 1998, the grocery retailer reported.

“Our founder, George Jenkins, started Publix more than 90 years ago because he wanted to build a better supermarket that treated its associates with dignity and respect and its customers like royalty,” Publix CEO Todd Jones said in a statement. “Today, we’re proud to keep his philosophies alive and are honored to continue to be on the Best Companies to Work For list.”

Publix currently operates 1,334 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Next up for expansion is Kentucky—where Publix will go up against long-established market leaders Kroger and Walmart. 

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. The store is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.