CINCINNATI — The hunt for Publix locations continues in Northern Kentucky, with two developers advancing retail projects in Union, Independence and Cold Spring.
The Union site, on U.S. 42 at Farmview Drive, is just a mile down the road from Greater Cincinnati's second-largest Kroger Marketplace store.
Although neither developer has identified Publix as a tenant, both have built stores for the Florida-based retailer in the past. And each site depicts stores similar in size to other Publix locations in Kentucky.
Publix declined to confirm it will open stores in Northern Kentucky.
"While we are always looking to grow our footprint across the bluegrass state and bring the Publix experience to new communities, we do not currently have anything to share for that location," Publix spokesman Jared Glover said.
Midland Atlantic Properties is pursuing a 53-acre retail development at the intersection of U.S. 27 and AA highway. Midland is a Kenwood-based retail developer whose founder has worked with Publix in Florida. John Silverman, managing principal and co-founder of Midland, did not return a call seeking comment.
Cold Spring city council recently advanced the Midland project by voting to annex 27 acres and enable up to $80 million in revenue bonds to finance it. The site plan for Cold Spring Pointe shows a strip center with a corner anchor of 48,840 square feet, surrounded by restaurant parcels and other retailers.
Crosland Southeast is working on a 20-acre project at the intersection of Madison Pike and Harris Pike in Independence, said Chris Moriconi, Independence city administrator. Crosland, a Charlotte-based developer, has built Publix stores in North Carolina and Georgia. Its site plan, approved by the Kenton County Planning Commission Sept. 7, shows a 48,387-square-foot grocery store with an attached 3,200-square-foot liquor store.
Crosland Southeast is also the developer for Fairview Commons, a 12-acre development that straddles the Union and Florence border along U.S. 42. The site is caddy corner from a Kroger fuel station that continues to operate near a former Kroger store that is now used as a distribution center by the company.
Publix has previously announced four Kentucky locations since entering the Bluegrass state in 2022. It now has one store in Lexington while Louisville has two stores open and one under construction.
In March, a North Carolina developer submitted a site plan to Boone County for the Triple Crown Retail Center on a 13-acre site on Richwood Road near I-71. That site plan described a 55,701-square-foot grocery store, which is a similar size of three other stores announced in Kentucky.
Of the three sites, the Cold Spring Pointe appears to be the furthest along, with a financing mechanism in place that could allow land acquisition to begin by November, according to city records. It also has room for another large anchor and several restaurants and would be built at the same interchange where a Meijer and Home Depot store already operate.
A Northern Kentucky store would intensify competition between Publix and Kroger, the Cincinnati-based retail giant that has successfully defended its home turf against past invasions by Walmart, Meijer, Aldi and others.
"It’s sort of like the Miami Dolphins playing the Cincinnati Bengals," said retail consultant Stan Eichelbaum. "Both top-knotch teams right now and who has the home field advantage and how much does that affect it?
Eichelbaum, president of Marketing Developments/Planning Developments Inc., is a former Federated Department store executive who has advised cities, developers and retailers brick-and-mortar strategies.
He thinks local competition could be intense between Kroger and Publix because their approach is similar.
"You've got Kroger competing against a like-Kroger from another city," Eichelbaum said. "The question is, how do they get to differentiation?"
And that could lead to improved service by both companies, better product offerings and lower prices.
"It will probably create price wars (and) some challenges to suppliers of trying to make products proprietary," Eichelbaum said.
It's already that Kroger is contesting the Publix invasion of Kentucky. In March, Kroger filed plans a new store in Louisville that will be across the street from Kentucky’s fourth Publix store.
Kroger invaded Publix home turf in Florida in 2021, with a delivery-only grocery model that uses a robot-powered warehouse and a hub-and-spoke system of transporting orders across South Florida.
