LOUISVILLE, Ky. — More than 90 years ago, George Jenkins opened the first Publix, then known as the Publix Food Store, in Winter Haven.
Now, Florida's very own little grocer is not so little anymore as it expands into its 8th state.
Publix Super Markets announced the opening of its first store in Kentucky on Wednesday, located at 2500 Terra Crossing Boulevard in Louisville. This store in particular is unique as it also features the company's first Publix Liquors outside of Florida, a press release says.
The location will also feature a fresh pizza kitchen and a Pours area, offering coffee, wine, beer, kombucha, acai bowls and smoothies that customers can enjoy while shopping.
The Kentucky store now joins more than 1,300 other Publix Supermarkets. Florida has 860 locations, followed by Georgia with 210 and Alabama with 90. Other states that Publix calls home is North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
With the opening of the Bluegrass State's first Publix, the company says there are five more stores set to open there in the future. The chain's arrival is said to bring more than 900 new jobs once all six stores are complete.
“As our Kentucky customers will come to know, they can count on us to deliver high-quality products that can only be found at Publix,” Publix CEO Kevin Murphy said in a statement. “Whether it is our famous Pub subs, Publix ice creams, bakery cakes, delicious ready-to-enjoy meals or anything in between, we offer some of the best food around.”
According to Publix's website, the company had $54.5 billion in sales in 2022 and currently employes more than 250,000 people.