5 new grocery store developments in the works across Louisville

Sign at the intersection of Shelbyville Road and Blankenbaker Parkway announcing a Publix coming soon to the area.

Provided by Kristen Gentry

USA TODAY Network, Reuters

While a number of new grocery stores have opened in Jefferson County in recent years, the trend isn’t going away anytime soon.

From newer-to-market names such as Publix to long-established local companies, such as Paul’s Fruit Market, there will soon be more options for fresh groceries in Louisville.

Most of these announced grocery store developments are happening in the eastern part of Jefferson County, though at least one project is reshaping a longstanding retail hub in the Highlands.

Here’s a look at where grocers are setting up shop in the Derby City.

Grocery stores opening in Louisville, Ky.

Publix coming to Prospect

Details: 9505 U.S. Highway 42, Prospect, Ky.

A new Publix location is coming to the Prospect Point Shopping Center, the first location of the popular grocery chain to come to the eastern Jefferson County community.

In March 2026, the Florida-based grocer bought about 14 acres at the corner of U.S. Highway 42 and River Road for $20 million from longtime local owner Warben Inc., according to deed records.

“For this project, we will be tearing down in stages in hopes that existing businesses can remain open throughout the construction process,” Publix spokesman Jared Glover previously told The Courier Journal.

Publix has not announced an opening timeline for the approximately 56,000-square-foot grocery store.

While plans to redevelop the site were filed in 2024 for a new grocery at the site, a specific operator was not identified at the time. Those plans secured city planning and zoning approval last year.

Publix entered the Louisville market in early 2024 with its first Kentucky store at 2500 Terra Crossing Blvd. in eastern Jefferson County. It has since opened two additional Louisville locations and has a handful of others in the works.

Publix coming to Mid City Market

Details: 1250 Bardstown Road, Louisville, Ky.

As Louisville readies to say goodbye to the long-standing Mid City Mall in the Highlands, work will soon be underway on a new Publix location at the site.

The new plan for the site, to be called Mid City Market, is anchored by a 55,000-square-foot Publix and a handful of mostly service-oriented businesses in four free-standing buildings.

After much speculation as to the eventual operator of the grocery store, Publix confirmed in August 2026 it had signed a lease for the site and would also operate a 3,200-square-foot adjacent Publix liquors.

The location is expected to employ about 150 people.

The mall was listed for sale in late 2024 and in January 2026, Atlanta-based Branch Properties officially announced it was partnering with longtime owner, the Metts family, to reimagine the 11.5-acre site.

A $60 million development plan for the site was approved earlier this year. Demolition on the existing mall, built in 1962, is expected to begin later this year. Publix is anticipated to open in the first half of 2028.

Publix coming to Blankenbaker Plaza

Details: 201 Blankenbaker Parkway, Louisville, Ky.

Douglass Hills is also set to welcome a Publix location.

A nearly 53,000-square-foot grocery and adjacent 3,200-square-foot liquor store are planned for Blankenbaker Plaza in far eastern Jefferson County.

No opening date has been publicly announced, though Publix confirmed in May 2025 that it had signed a lease for the new store.

The grocery project replaces the former Walmart Neighborhood Market, which closed in 2018.

The shopping center, built in 1999, was originally home to a Winn-Dixie supermarket, which was succeeded by the Walmart Neighborhood Market in 2007. Walmart ultimately closed the location along with two other Louisville stores, citing poor performance.

Paul’s Fruit Market plans expansion

Details: 3704 Taylorsville Road, Louisville, Ky.

Locally owned Paul’s Fruit Market is expanding one of its longstanding Louisville locations.

The company is working on a $1.7 million expansion of its 3704 Taylorsville Road location, according to records submitted to the Louisville Metro Office of Planning.

The update will add 6,800 square feet of new building space, in addition to the existing nearly 5,500-square-foot building.

Plans also call for paving an adjacent lot, 3710 Taylorsville Road, for more parking. The expansion will bring the site’s total parking spot count to 75 and grow the site from one-acre to just under one-and-one-half-acres.

“Due to an increase in business, additional retail building space for Paul’s Fruit Market and additional parking is needed on the existing site and adjacent property,” Paul’s said in a letter supporting the expansion plan submitted to the city.

Paul’s Fruit Market has roots dating back to the late 1800s, when the Thieneman family grew produce and sold it at Louisville’s old Haymarket. The brand’s first grocery store opened in 1948, and the company has now grown to four local grocery stores: 3922 Chenoweth Square, 12119 Shelbyville Road, 4990 U.S. 42 and the Taylorsville Road location.

The Taylorsville Road location opened in 1971 and remained an open-air market until the early 1990s. It has a full-service deli, a butcher, a garden center and a wide selection of food products.

Oldham County to get new grocery store

A grocery store is part of a mixed-use redevelopment in Oldham County’s Buckner just off Interstate 71.

Buckner Commons at Buckner Crossings, on a 30-acre site at S. 393 and Commerce Parkway, is set to include a 55,000-square-foot grocery store with a 3,200-square-foot adjacent liquor store.

Oldham County’s Planning Commission voted 10-1 at a June meeting to approve the development plan from developer Prime Property Development Co.

The vision also includes a 101,000-square-foot hardware store.

Both tenants have not been publicly disclosed, but they are eyeing a first quarter 2028 opening.

Plans call for nearly 360 parking spaces for the home improvement store and just shy of 300 spaces for the grocery.

Access to the site will be via Commerce Parkway and from S. 393.

The nearest grocery is a Kroger at 2835 S. Highway 393, directly across Commerce Parkway, which opened in late 2023. That site is also home to a newly developed Kroger fuel center, bank, Starbucks and McDonald’s.

Future development at the location includes six “outparcels” on the outskirts of the large stores, totaling about nine acres for future, smaller-scale commercial development.

Reach growth and development reporter Matthew Glowicki at mglowicki@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4000.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 5 new grocery store developments in the works across Louisville

Reporting by Matthew Glowicki, Louisville Courier Journal / Louisville Courier Journal

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Renderings show a grocery and home improvement store planned for Buckner Commons at Buckner Crossings, a retail development at Commerce Parkway and Highway 393, as seen in a developer’s presentation from a June 2026 planning meeting. Courtesy Oldham County Planning USA TODAY Network, Reuters

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This story was originally published October 2, 2026 at 5:02 AM.