"I don't think people realize that their voices are being heard when they send tweets or emails asking us to come to their areas," Publix media relations manager Jared Glover told The Post and Courier ahead of the Florence opening. "We do see those things, and sometimes those do play a big part in us joining a community."
Florence made those requests in a way you can count. In 2024, The Post and Courier Pee Dee asked readers which grocery store they most wanted in town. Publix got 53 percent of more than 600 votes. Publix announced its Florence store less than a year later. It set the opening at Palmetto Place for Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2026, at 7 a.m., according to WPDE, and it is the chain's first store anywhere in the Pee Dee.
Readers have already voted on the next store too. If Glover is right about how chains pick their towns, that second tally is the most useful grocery forecast Florence has.
Two polls, one year apart
The paper ran the question twice. The first poll found the store that's now opening. The second asked what should come after Publix. Nearly 1,000 readers voted before counting stopped on Oct. 24, 2025.
| Poll | Votes | First place | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 most-wanted grocery store | More than 600 | Publix, 53% | Trader Joe's, about 30% | Not reported |
| October 2025, what comes after Publix | Nearly 1,000 | Trader Joe's, about 41% | Costco, 29.1% | Whole Foods, 8.5% |
Trader Joe's came second the first time and first the second time. Its share went from about 30 percent to about 41 percent once Publix was off the table, and more people voted in round two. After the top three came Kroger, Lowes Foods and Fresh Market. Ingles and Food City each got less than 3 percent.
How the first vote turned into an opening day
Each step from poll to opening has a date on it.
- 2024. Publix wins the Post and Courier Pee Dee reader poll.
- March 26, 2025. The store is announced at the northeast corner of Palmetto Street and Ebenezer Road. WBTW reported it would employ about 140 people, with no opening date set yet.
- Sept. 4, 2025. MCM Partners announces an equity partnership with Palmetto Street Realty to fund the shopping center. United Community Bank is named construction lender.
- Sept. 16, 2025. Developer The Morgan Companies says it has finished buying the land and plans to start building by October 2025 and finish in late 2026.
- October 2025. Readers vote again, and Trader Joe's leads.
- Oct. 14, 2026. Publix Media Relations sets the opening for Nov. 18 at 7 a.m.
The developer's late-2026 target held, and the opening lands the week before Thanksgiving. The Post and Courier said a grand opening celebration is planned at Palmetto Place on Nov. 18.
What's inside Store #2144
Publix's new store openings list shows the Florence location as Store #2144 at 3435 W. Palmetto St. It's 46,791 square feet and has a pharmacy. Glover told WPDE that about 140 associates will work there. The store's location page lists a deli, a Publix Pharmacy and a drive-thru pharmacy.
Most of the excitement in town has been about the food. When The Post and Courier covered the store, one Facebook commenter wrote, "I can't wait to have a Publix sub and their wings regularly." The paper's guide to the Florence store covers the standard features:
- Bakery. Bread is baked fresh every morning and goes into the deli subs. Kids get a free cookie each. The key lime pie has been winning blue ribbons since Publix started entering competitions in 2001.
- Ice cream. Publix makes its own, and Glover called it one of the company's biggest sellers.
- Store brands. There are three: Publix, Publix Premium and GreenWise. GreenWise is the label for organic, sustainably sourced products.
The same guide notes that pharmacy hours vary by store, so check the location page for Florence's hours before you go.
The rest of Palmetto Place is still being filled
Publix is the anchor, but it isn't the whole project. The Morgan Companies' plan adds about 18,050 square feet of retail plus several outparcels for restaurants, services and neighborhood shops. One other tenant has been named. Parker's Kitchen is taking the corner outparcel, and The Post and Courier reported the deal without an opening date.
The developer's project page still lists multiple outparcels and small-shop spaces as available. Leasing materials for the center advertise three full-access entrances.
That's where the poll and the empty lots meet. A grocery anchor brings daily traffic, and daily traffic is what restaurant and service tenants want when they pick an outparcel. Glover said one of the reasons for coming was that Florence is a growing community with its sights on bigger businesses and more development. The same pull works on the smaller spaces at this corner.
Where the unsold food goes
Most coverage of the opening skips one part of the store: what happens after closing. Publix will make regular donations to Harvest Hope Food Bank through its partnership with the Feeding America network. Harvest Hope has a Florence location.
"At the end of every day, we're going through our bakery department, our produce department, dairy, and we're pulling items that are still wholesome and edible, but just not at the level customers might expect to come into our stores to purchase," Glover told The Post and Courier.
The timing matters. The same article reported that the number of people getting food from Harvest Hope is up about 20 percent from the year before. Harvest Hope CEO Sy Hughes explained why retail donations have been shrinking. Shoppers are buying less because prices are higher, so stores order less and have less left over to give.
Hughes said he's especially glad Publix will donate meat and dairy. A regular food drive can't accept those because of food-safety rules, but a retailer can keep them refrigerated from store to pantry. The store also plans to support United Way of Florence County. Glover said Publix raised more than $50 million for United Way chapters across its markets in 2025.
The drives the next vote is about
The second poll is really a list of trips Florence shoppers make now. The Post and Courier gave the distance to the nearest location of each leader.
- Trader Joe's, 41 percent. The nearest store is off Sayebrook Parkway in Myrtle Beach, about an hour and a half away. On its Sept. 30, 2025 opening day, the line wrapped around the building, through the parking lot, behind Firehouse Subs and back on itself. It's one of six Trader Joe's in South Carolina.
- Costco, 29.1 percent. The nearest warehouse is on the Grand Strand near Hwy 17 and 501, also about an hour and a half away. There are seven in the state.
- Whole Foods, 8.5 percent. The nearest is in Columbia, about an hour and 15 minutes away. The chain has four South Carolina stores.
Before Nov. 18, the Pee Dee had no Publix, and Florence ranked it first. Now the top three choices are each more than an hour's drive away. The October 2025 poll shows readers already have the next one picked, and Publix has said publicly that this kind of request gets noticed.
If the new Publix has you thinking about which part of Florence fits your weekly routine, or what a shopping corner taking shape on West Palmetto Street means for the homes near it, I'm glad to walk through it with you. Kirk Stalvey works across Florence and the Pee Dee and keeps track of what's opening where. Book an appointment and we'll start with your list.
