Is Louisville the Next Grocery Hotspot?
Competition in the Louisville grocery market continues to tighten. This week, The Kroger Co. broke ground in a store on Beulah Church Road in the southeastern part of town.
Set to open in 2026, the new Kroger will span about 123,000 square feet. According to local news reports, it is a $40 million project and the store will include the retailer’s wide assortment of grocery staples, along with an on-site pharmacy, Starbucks, Little Clinic, Starbucks and other amenities.
The planned store follows the September opening of another Kroger in Louisville on Ballardsville Road and the reopening of a store in east Louisville. The retailer operates nearly 25 stores in the Louisville market.
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As Kroger expands is presence in that Kentucky city, Publix Super Markets continues to push northward in the area, too. The Florida-based grocer unveiled its first store at 2500 Terra Crossing Blvd. in early 2024 and is working on two other sites. Meanwhile, ALDI is putting the finishing touches on its seventh store in the market, which will welcome shoppers in nearby Middletown. Over the summer, construction began on a BJ's Wholesale Club within the Jefferson Mall in Louisville.
Independent stores are ramping up their business as well. Local grocer Rainblow Blossom, which specializes in natural and organic products and health and wellness offerings, added an outpost in an east Louisville neighborhood earlier this fall, its sixth outpost in the market.
The population of Louisville grew 3.8% to 4.5 million people from 2010 to 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Kroger Family of Companies’ nearly 420,000 associates serve more than 11 million customers daily through a digital shopping experience and retail food stores under a variety of banner names. The Cincinnati-based grocer is No. 4 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named Kroger one of its Retailers of the Century. Employee-owned and -operated Publix has 255,000-plus associates and more than 1,300 supermarkets in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky. The Lakeland, Fla.-based company is No. 12 on The PG 100. Batavia, Ill.-headquartered ALDI U.S. is No. 28 on The PG 100 and BJ’s is No. 30.
