Publix opening Concord store

Florida-based Publix Super Markets said Wednesday that it plans to open a store in Concord, adding a fourteenth Publix store to the Charlotte region.

No opening date has been set for the Concord store, said a Publix spokeswoman. The new store will be located in the planned Willow Oaks Crossing shopping center, at George Liles Parkway and Weddington Road. 

Publix has signed a lease for the location, and plans for the store to be 49,000 square feet. Concord is in the process of extending Weddington and George Liles to make the area more business- and traffic-

Planned Publix stores

friendly.

As Publix ramps up its Charlotte division, the company has two local stores open, both just over the border in South Carolina. Publix is planning to open six stores next year and five more in 2015, in addition to the Concord store. 

The company has also announced plans to open stores in Asheville, Cary and Winston-Salem as it pushes into North Carolina. Charlotte and the rest of the state are, of course, home turf for Matthews-based Harris Teeter, adding to the competitive pressure on the local retailer. 

That pressure, as well as competition from Walmart and other discounters, is a major reason Harris Teeter decided to sell itself to Cincinnati-based Kroger earlier this year. That deal is expected to close early next year.