Carrollton Publix could open this fall, developer says

Carrollton residents craving a “Pub Sub,” the submarine-style sandwiches offered at Publix supermarkets, may not need to wait much longer.

The Publix that will anchor the commercial phase of The Crossings at Bartlett Station, a mixed-use development at Carrollton and Brewers Neck boulevards, could open by early fall, according to The Crossings’ developer, Jerry Bowman.

The Florida-based grocer did not immediately respond to The Smithfield Times’ requests for an update on the Carrollton Publix. The company had said last year that the store would open in late 2024.

The timeframe is on par with the year-and-a-half it took to build a roughly 45,000-square-foot Publix in neighboring Suffolk at Godwin Boulevard and Kings Fork Road. That store was announced in May 2022 and opened 19 months later in December 2023.

December 2022 plans on file with Isle of Wight County called for a 51,851-square-foot grocery store and an additional 7,200 square feet of attached retail space on an 11.28-acre parcel at the corner of two of The Crossings’ newly created roads: Lori Anne Way and Spadea Way, directly behind a new Royal Farms gas station.

As of July 2, stucco had been applied to most of the Carrollton store’s exterior.

Isle of Wight Community Development Director Amy Ring said Publix has received all of its required local permits, but said she hadn’t heard a specific opening date.

Publix North Carolina LP, the subsidiary building the Carrollton store, has applied to the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority for a retail off-premises gourmet shop license to sell wine and beer or manufacture alcoholic beverages, according to a public notice published in the June 26 and July 3 editions of the Times. According to the notice, there’s a 30-day window for anyone to object, after which the ABC Authority can issue Publix its license.

Plans to bring Publix to Carrollton began in 2022 when Bowman received approval from Isle of Wight County supervisors to scrap circa-2002 plans for a shopping center and instead subdivide The Crossings’ commercial phase into multiple, smaller parcels, one of which Bowman pledged would be an “upscale” national grocery chain. The development’s residential phase, which is approved for up to 240 condominium units and 52 single-family homes, broke ground in 2021. Its commercial phase, in addition to Publix and Royal Farms, is also home to a recently opened new branch of Langley Federal Credit Union. County supervisors have also approved a 75,000-square-foot, climate-controlled, three-story self-storage facility for an extension of Lori Anne Way.