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I suspect that Publix will eventually wind up in Gastonia, but maybe it will be a little while.
When Publix expands into a new area, they tend to locate their stores in higher income areas in cities and their suburbs, and that demographic in SE Gastonia and Belmont might be large enough to interest them. However, with Harris Teeter coming back into Gastonia and with Lowes already in the area, I suspect Publix will to continue to first focus on areas with larger concentrations of high income (South Charlotte/Ballantyne, Dilworth/Myers Park, Lake Norman area, etc.) before they move further out. But, if you start hearing the names of Stiles and Levine associated with potential property sites then the rumors are probably true, as they are developing all of the recently announced Publix locations, I believe.
I can't really see them in Kings Mountain for a long time, though, as KM does not really fit the profile of markets that Publix has been going into - a bit too far from Charlotte and the desired demographic is smaller and probably very well served by Ingles already.
Went to the Publix in Indian Land. I wish C-D had an smiley for "not impressed". I guess I'll stick with "meh" as my review.
I went to the one in Tega Cay two weeks ago, I had the same impression. While it does seem slightly better than the ones in Florida, specifically the ones in the Tampa area, it wasn't all that special to me. The pricing isn't that much off from Harris Teeter's pricing. The only thing I could say is that their customer service is pretty decent, then again Harris Teeter's customer service is decent too. The first sections I went to was the bakery and deli sections to see what's the fuss is all about from reading posters' experiences about Publix's bakery and deli. While the actual baked goods are quite delicious, it won't win me over as I'm very health conscious, I went on my cheat day and bought various types of cakes and breads to try out. I do like their Cuban bread, but it turns as hard as a rock in a day or two. I did like their cheesecake and cupcakes though.
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Originally Posted by Comfort Food
I suspect that Publix will eventually wind up in Gastonia, but maybe it will be a little while.
When Publix expands into a new area, they tend to locate their stores in higher income areas in cities and their suburbs, and that demographic in SE Gastonia and Belmont might be large enough to interest them. However, with Harris Teeter coming back into Gastonia and with Lowes already in the area, I suspect Publix will to continue to first focus on areas with larger concentrations of high income (South Charlotte/Ballantyne, Dilworth/Myers Park, Lake Norman area, etc.) before they move further out. But, if you start hearing the names of Stiles and Levine associated with potential property sites then the rumors are probably true, as they are developing all of the recently announced Publix locations, I believe.
I can't really see them in Kings Mountain for a long time, though, as KM does not really fit the profile of markets that Publix has been going into - a bit too far from Charlotte and the desired demographic is smaller and probably very well served by Ingles already.
I was surprised by the poster who named Kings Mountain, to be honest, but then I thought about it. There is some money in Kings Mountain (mostly old money, at this time) as well as in Shelby. Any other money is scattered. However, the Ingles has proven that people will travel to Kings Mountain to shop. While I don't think that Kings Mountain is a tier 1 site for them, it would be better for Publix to build in Kings Mountain than Shelby, because once they get out there, there's not much money to come in from the west or north.
Since leaving Charlotte, Lowes Foods has dropped their prices & is more competitive with Ingles. I'd guess that Gastonia is high on the Publix list because of the way that Harris Teeter left. It angered a lot of people. Going in before Teeter re-establishes itself would make sense.
Publix has many more sales than HT. They often have Buy 1 get 1 free items, and you don't have to buy 2 they give you any number at half of the original. Not all store do that.
I am not a fan of the buy 2 get 3 free gig, for example on ice cream, who has room in their single kitchen freezer for 5 ice creams and everything else?
I'm not a fan of stores that use a large number of sales as tactic to lure people into their establishment. IMO, they should just lower their prices overall and be done with it.
IMO, I don't think Publix will enter many markets outside of Charlotte because it puts them directly against Walmart and local retailers who understand those markets. Publix certainly stands no chance against Walmart. Charlotte is easy in comparison.
Having grown up with Publix, I was happy they were here. But I have gone about 3 times and now I won't even bother. The prices were higher than I expected on basic goods. The deli service was horrible. (I had to explain over and over to the deli clerk who had to involve her supervisor who understood me instantly and she in turn couldn't explain it to the clerk before taking over with no apologies to me)
Having grown up with Publix, I was happy they were here. But I have gone about 3 times and now I won't even bother. The prices were higher than I expected on basic goods. The deli service was horrible. (I had to explain over and over to the deli clerk who had to involve her supervisor who understood me instantly and she in turn couldn't explain it to the clerk before taking over with no apologies to me)
Yeah it used to be a pleasure.
Coming here from Florida, I wasn't excited about Publix coming. I was glad to see them as I would be about any business. I welcome all competition. Personally, I think that the average Harris teeter is better than the average Publix. The only thing I liked better about Publix was their Cuban sandwich.
Coming here from Florida, I wasn't excited about Publix coming. I was glad to see them as I would be about any business. I welcome all competition. Personally, I think that the average Harris teeter is better than the average Publix. The only thing I liked better about Publix was their Cuban sandwich.
I was most excited to get some cuban foods more than anything and their cuban bread. First time I went to get the bread, they were sold out as they had sold their entire batch to a single person. Then I waited and had asked twice for the lard based recipe. They gave me the other one. Second time, I asked specifically again for the lard based and the person looked at me like I grew two heads. Third time was the charm and I did get my bread finally. But the deli experience soured me. Sigh.
As for growing up with it, Publix was infinitely better than the Winn Dixies or Albertsons we had. However I only used them for basics. I actually shopped more at Norman Brothers, local bakeries (my favorite on Sunset and Galloway) and butcher/seafood markets. It wasn't till I moved here that my bulk of shopping shifted to HT and Earth Fare/Fresh Market.
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