By Patrick Thomas | Photography by Jon Cherry for WSJ
BOONE COUNTY, Ky. -- There's a battle raging in a county named for pioneer Daniel Boone. It's about territory, and one side is encroaching on the other's home turf.
The competitors are two of the nation's biggest supermarket chains: Publix and Kroger.
While they have long sparred in the Deep South, Florida-based Publix has set up a new front near Kroger's headquarters in Cincinnati. Publix, a beloved Florida grocer with about 1,400 stores, envisions a dozen locations operating in Kentucky by year's end.
"It's the frontier of Publix," said Devin Dosher, assistant manager of the Publix in Boone County, who has spent 13 years with the company.
Kroger, the nation's largest supermarket operator, with about 2,700 stores, isn't standing pat. It dropped prices at its northern Kentucky stores when Publix moved in and opened a refurbished supermarket in the area last fall. In its hunt for growth, Kroger wants to open more stores in Publix's home state, including in Jacksonville.
Executives at Cincinnati-based Kroger said nearby stores initially took a sales hit when Publix first opened, but they have since returned to earlier levels. But Publix still has more locations to open, and that could test Kroger's dominance.
The battle illustrates the potential risks and rewards of spending millions on real estate and new operations to win over shoppers. Kroger and Publix aren't just competing with each other; they're facing the likes of national retailers including Walmart and other regional outposts for food.
Ultimately, consumers might be the big winners. Shoppers at both stores say they are enjoying increased promotions and buy-one-get-one-free deals.
"This will be an interesting experiment," said Craig Johnson of Customer Growth Partners, a Connecticut retail consultant. Publix invests in the customer experience, from clean stores to more checkout lines that make it easier to get in and out. Kroger, while it still invests in its stores, is more focused on deals to attract shoppers, he said.
Supermarkets operate with razor-thin profit margins, stoking fierce competition to win as many customers as possible. That competition involves routinely monitoring rivals' prices and shifting their own accordingly.
Expanding service areas gives companies a chance to build leverage with suppliers and offer goods at lower prices, a potential boon to shoppers.
Aldi has said it plans to open 180 new U.S. stores this year, rapidly expanding into Colorado and Arizona, putting pressure on Albertsons's Safeway stores. Sprouts Farmers Market is expanding its presence in Whole Foods Market's hometown of Austin, Texas. Whole Foods has been trying to grow in the Northeast.
About 20 miles south of downtown Cincinnati, the new Publix sits just past a roundabout at the front entrance of a glitzy subdivision known as Triple Crown. The building with a red-brick facade and bright green letters anchors a small shopping center in the suburban area.
Hundreds of people lined up outside the new supermarket on opening day last May. Some superfans came in Publix-branded flip-flops and shirts, while others were eager to get a "pub sub" or the chain's signature key lime pie. Lines of parked cars stretched out from the parking lot for at least the following three weeks.
Martin Schmidlin, a Cincinnati elevator inspector, hasn't shopped at Kroger since Publix opened a store in the area. Schmidlin has often vacationed in Florida and was thrilled once he heard Publix was coming to town. He said that, while some Publix items are more expensive, the store makes up for it with buy-one-get-one-free sales.
'Breaking' a monopoly
"Kroger long had a monopoly on the area," Schmidlin said.
The new Publix was built with bright lights and wider aisles to give customers more space to navigate with shopping carts. It has a smoothie and coffee bar and a seating area where a group of local women gathers every Wednesday to play mahjong.
Publix officials said that while some consumers believe it might be more expensive, its value proposition is just as competitive once its sales and store experience are factored in.
Debbie Caldwell, who lives in the Cincinnati area, is originally from Georgia and has been to many Publix stores. But Caldwell prefers Kroger, largely because of its discounts. Publix has strong loyalty in the Deep South, she said, but it might struggle to break into the market.
"Once the newness wears off, we'll see how it goes," she said.
Kroger operates about 100 stores around the Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, metro areas. Jake Cannon, who oversees Kroger's stores in the region, said the rivalry with Publix only makes his Kroger stores sharper, in areas such as customer service, where Publix excels.
"Publix isn't going to try to beat us on price," he said. "They can't. That's not the model."
One of Kroger's newest stores in the area could serve as a competitive response to Publix. The store in Edgewood, Ky., was built with a large deli and restaurant area that rivals Publix's new format. It was meant to resemble Murray's Cheese, the famous cheesemonger in New York City's Greenwich Village, which Kroger bought in 2017. Cannon said the revamp wasn't because of Publix, but it does help the company's chances.
Andy Waters, who works at the University of Cincinnati, said that local supermarket prices dropped when Publix opened in the area.
That same month, a Kroger supermarket roughly seven miles away held a promotional event where shoppers could spin a giveaway wheel at the front of the building to win free items. Waters said his two children won free ice cream and popcorn, cementing his family's loyalty to the hometown chain. Kroger's loyalty program that allows customers to earn discounts on gasoline also helps, he said.
"My kids love Kroger -- they want to work there," Waters said while shopping for lunch items at the store.
Write to Patrick Thomas at patrick.thomas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
By Patrick Thomas | Photography by Jon Cherry for WSJ
BOONE COUNTY, Ky. -- There's a battle raging in a county named for pioneer Daniel Boone. It's about territory, and one side is encroaching on the other's home turf.
The competitors are two of the nation's biggest supermarket chains: Publix and Kroger.
While they have long sparred in the Deep South, Florida-based Publix has set up a new front near Kroger's headquarters in Cincinnati. Publix, a beloved Florida grocer with about 1,400 stores, envisions a dozen locations operating in Kentucky by year's end.
"It's the frontier of Publix," said Devin Dosher, assistant manager of the Publix in Boone County, who has spent 13 years with the company.
Kroger, the nation's largest supermarket operator, with about 2,700 stores, isn't standing pat. It dropped prices at its northern Kentucky stores when Publix moved in and opened a refurbished supermarket in the area last fall. In its hunt for growth, Kroger wants to open more stores in Publix's home state, including in Jacksonville.
Executives at Cincinnati-based Kroger said nearby stores initially took a sales hit when Publix first opened, but they have since returned to earlier levels. But Publix still has more locations to open, and that could test Kroger's dominance.
The battle illustrates the potential risks and rewards of spending millions on real estate and new operations to win over shoppers. Kroger and Publix aren't just competing with each other; they're facing the likes of national retailers including Walmart and other regional outposts for food.
Ultimately, consumers might be the big winners. Shoppers at both stores say they are enjoying increased promotions and buy-one-get-one-free deals.
"This will be an interesting experiment," said Craig Johnson of Customer Growth Partners, a Connecticut retail consultant. Publix invests in the customer experience, from clean stores to more checkout lines that make it easier to get in and out. Kroger, while it still invests in its stores, is more focused on deals to attract shoppers, he said.
Supermarkets operate with razor-thin profit margins, stoking fierce competition to win as many customers as possible. That competition involves routinely monitoring rivals' prices and shifting their own accordingly.
Expanding service areas gives companies a chance to build leverage with suppliers and offer goods at lower prices, a potential boon to shoppers.
Aldi has said it plans to open 180 new U.S. stores this year, rapidly expanding into Colorado and Arizona, putting pressure on Albertsons's Safeway stores. Sprouts Farmers Market is expanding its presence in Whole Foods Market's hometown of Austin, Texas. Whole Foods has been trying to grow in the Northeast.
About 20 miles south of downtown Cincinnati, the new Publix sits just past a roundabout at the front entrance of a glitzy subdivision known as Triple Crown. The building with a red-brick facade and bright green letters anchors a small shopping center in the suburban area.
Hundreds of people lined up outside the new supermarket on opening day last May. Some superfans came in Publix-branded flip-flops and shirts, while others were eager to get a "pub sub" or the chain's signature key lime pie. Lines of parked cars stretched out from the parking lot for at least the following three weeks.
Martin Schmidlin, a Cincinnati elevator inspector, hasn't shopped at Kroger since Publix opened a store in the area. Schmidlin has often vacationed in Florida and was thrilled once he heard Publix was coming to town. He said that, while some Publix items are more expensive, the store makes up for it with buy-one-get-one-free sales.
'Breaking' a monopoly
"Kroger long had a monopoly on the area," Schmidlin said.
The new Publix was built with bright lights and wider aisles to give customers more space to navigate with shopping carts. It has a smoothie and coffee bar and a seating area where a group of local women gathers every Wednesday to play mahjong.
Publix officials said that while some consumers believe it might be more expensive, its value proposition is just as competitive once its sales and store experience are factored in.
Debbie Caldwell, who lives in the Cincinnati area, is originally from Georgia and has been to many Publix stores. But Caldwell prefers Kroger, largely because of its discounts. Publix has strong loyalty in the Deep South, she said, but it might struggle to break into the market.
"Once the newness wears off, we'll see how it goes," she said.
Kroger operates about 100 stores around the Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, metro areas. Jake Cannon, who oversees Kroger's stores in the region, said the rivalry with Publix only makes his Kroger stores sharper, in areas such as customer service, where Publix excels.
"Publix isn't going to try to beat us on price," he said. "They can't. That's not the model."
One of Kroger's newest stores in the area could serve as a competitive response to Publix. The store in Edgewood, Ky., was built with a large deli and restaurant area that rivals Publix's new format. It was meant to resemble Murray's Cheese, the famous cheesemonger in New York City's Greenwich Village, which Kroger bought in 2017. Cannon said the revamp wasn't because of Publix, but it does help the company's chances.
Andy Waters, who works at the University of Cincinnati, said that local supermarket prices dropped when Publix opened in the area.
That same month, a Kroger supermarket roughly seven miles away held a promotional event where shoppers could spin a giveaway wheel at the front of the building to win free items. Waters said his two children won free ice cream and popcorn, cementing his family's loyalty to the hometown chain. Kroger's loyalty program that allows customers to earn discounts on gasoline also helps, he said.
"My kids love Kroger -- they want to work there," Waters said while shopping for lunch items at the store.
Write to Patrick Thomas at patrick.thomas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 02, 2026 02:33 ET (07:33 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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