2 new Publix coming to help alleviate Nashville's grocery-store deficit

Sandy Mazza | The Tennessean

Development plans for two new Publix Super Markets in Nashville are officially underway in the Gulch and 8th Avenue South areas, answering a longtime call from residents in the urban core for more grocery options.

While discussions about the two markets have been taking place for more than a year, the deals were only recently completed.

Publix officials announced Monday a finalized deal to build a 39,000-square-foot store with a pharmacy at 2223 8th Avenue South.

Three miles away, a smaller prototype store is in the works at the Capitol View development north of the Gulch. The 26,000-square-foot market is planned for the corner of Charlotte Avenue and 11th Avenue North. It will include a pharmacy and enhanced prepared "grab and go" options such as sushi, soup and sandwiches.

Neither markets have set opening dates yet.

"Publix continues to grow in the Middle Tennessee area," said spokeswoman Brenda Reid, adding there are four more new stores being developed outside Nashville. "Publix currently operates 42 stores in Tennessee."

In a 2017 survey by Nashville Downtown Partnership, residents said their most desired change downtown is to have more grocery options.

Downtown Nashville, long closed to residential living, topped 10,000 residents for the first time in 2017 after years of exponential growth. But infrastructure to support the population has in some cases been slow to catch up, particularly with retail stores.