In the Publix interest: Consumers have been pushing for an N.C. presence; the grocer obliges

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Mike Silvers got his first job at a Publix in south Florida. He also met his wife at a Publix.

But when he moved to Charlotte in 2008, the closest Publix grocery store to Silvers’ Highland Creek home was in Spartanburg. Undeterred, he would make the hour-and-a-half trip south a couple of times a month to stock up on the things he says he couldn’t find at other area grocery stores.

Two Publix stores a bit closer to his home opened in October, one in Fort Mill and one in Indian Land. But Silvers still has to drive across the state line to get to his preferred store, and he and many others in the state are longing for the Lakeland, Fla.-based grocer to open stores north of the border.

Evidently Publix has taken heed, with three Charlotte area stores announced and many more in the pipeline.

Chris Grenier said pressure from consumers is the primary reason Publix made its foray into the Charlotte and N.C. markets.

“Charlotte is where their customer hotlines get the most requests for new stores,” said Grenier, vice president at Stiles, the Florida-based developer that has brought the three Publix stores to the Charlotte area. “They’ve basically been listening to customer demand and this is where it’s been leading them.”

In addition to the hotline requests, N.C. consumers have taken other steps to attract Publix to the state. A group on Facebook, called “Bring PUBLIX to NC,” has 465 members who regularly update the page with news of Publix’s encroachment into the state and who generally long for a store close to them. Silvers is a member of this group.

“When we moved up here, we tried everything (grocery-wise),” Silvers said. “It just wasn’t the same. Harris Teeter was closest, but there were some things service-wise that Harris Teeter didn’t do.”

Similar sentiments can be found littered across the wall of the Facebook group.

Lucky for them, Publix is coming soon to three sites around the Charlotte area: Ballantyne, South End and Mint Hill. Stiles is developing each of those grocery-anchored shopping centers.

Publix revealed its move into Charlotte when the company announced it signed a lease for a 56,000-square-foot store in Ballantyne, at Providence Road West and Johnston Road. Construction started in March on the Ballantyne store, which is set to open early in 2014, according to Maria Brous, spokeswoman for Publix.

The grocer followed its Ballantyne debut with a sophomore announcement for a 55,000-square-foot store in South End. Construction hasn’t started on that store, at South Boulevard and Iverson Way, but it is expected to be open by late 2014, Brous said.

A 49,000-square-foot store in Mint Hill, at N.C. Highway 51 and Brighton Park Drive, was announced last week and completed the initial triumvirate of Publix stores in the area. Construction has yet to start, but the store is set to open in late 2014 or early 2015, said Adrienne Zalkind, spokeswoman for Stiles.

But even before Publix revealed the Mint Hill store, the company agreed to take more than 15,000 square feet of office space off Tyvola Road to set up a regional office, indicating that the company views Charlotte as a growth market, said Andy Misiaveg, partner in the Charlotte office of Atlanta-based The Shopping Center Group.

With a heavy presence in S.C., the jump to the Charlotte market was an easy one, Misiaveg said.

“The demographic in Charlotte really fits the Publix demographic profile,” he said. “They’re a middle-to-upper-middle income grocer looking to appeal to that customer. And that’s the kind of customer that Charlotte offers.”

In a market like Charlotte, Misiaveg said he would expect Publix to have a goal of adding around 20 stores within the next four to five years.

Grenier was even more ambitious. He said he thinks the company could add dozens of stores across the state over the next decade.

“Statewide, I would expect there could be 50-plus stores in the next 10 years, if not 100,” Grenier said. “If they are going to be competitive with Harris Teeter, they have to get that store count up.

“And we feel that pressure as a developer, to try and find those sites for them. An ideal volume (for Publix) would be adding between five and 10 a year for the next eight to 10 years.”

With expectations as high as those for future Publix stores, the rumor mill has been working double time to identify the next place a Publix store might pop up. And while nothing is official until Publix announces a new store – and Publix refuses to comment on anything until a store is final – some of the rumors seem to be more deeply rooted in fact than others.

A source, who asked to remain anonymous but has been correct about Publix before, told The Mecklenburg Times that Publix is close to finalizing a deal to come to the Highland Creek area of Charlotte and is looking for space in Harrisburg for another potential store.

Grenier said he knows Publix has shown interest in placing a store at Prosperity Church and Eastfield roads in Highland Creek. Stiles isn’t involved in those negotiations though, he said, adding that no leases have been signed in Highland Creek at this point, to the best of his knowledge.

Silvers said he’s spoken to shop owners in Highland Creek who have told him Publix has shown a high level of interest in coming to the area.

As for Harrisburg, Joshua Watkins, the town planning director, said that he’s had numerous conversations with real estate developers looking to bring more grocery to the town. The name Publix, or any other specific names, haven’t been mentioned, he said.

“The town has been growing rapidly; even during the economic downturn we were still growing,” Watkins said. “And with the residential projects in the last year, there’s definitely a market for more grocery here.”

Grenier said he has no knowledge of a Publix deal in Harrisburg.

The likelihood of several more Publix stores in the area isn’t an opportunity only for the grocer, though. Grenier said that even though Stiles has brought the three already-announced stores to the area, Publix is willing to work with other developers who can assemble land for a possible store. Developers would be smart to team up with Publix, he said.

“You can count on one hand anchor tenants that are doing new deals these days,” he said. “Publix is one of those few that continues to grow.

“It’s a very viable product to develop. There isn’t risk involved with Publix as an anchor tenant.”

Regardless of the developer responsible for bringing Publix to the city, Silvers said he’s ready to have one closer to home so he can stop making his bi-monthly pilgrimages to the stores in S.C.

“There’s really not a comparison between (Publix and) the other stores,” he said. “I think Highland Creek would be a good place for them to come.”