A winner’s been crowned. Here’s your favorite grocery store in the Charlotte area
Observer readers have chosen their favorite grocery store from a field of 16.
After going back and forth each round for the lead between hometown Harris Teeter or Publix, in the end, it was a landslide decision in the Observer’s 2022 Grocery Bracket.
Florida-based Publix knocked out Matthews-based Harris Teeter, with 70% of the votes in our unscientific poll. Voting ended at noon Friday.
Publix took 1,472 votes over Harris Teeter’s 622 votes. That happened despite the top three grocers by market share in the Charlotte area being Walmart, Harris Teeter and Food Lion, respectively, according to industry publication Chain Store Guide’s report released last month.
Perhaps the win is fitting on the day Publix announced it has signed on to open a 60,000-square-foot store at The Colony in SouthPark, just weeks after the supermarket chain said it will open another store in Mooresville.
Publix has 22 stores in the Charlotte region, while Harris Teeter, owned by Kroger in Cincinnati, has 61, according to the Chain Store Guide’s report. Publix has over 9% of market share in the region, compared to Harris Teeter’s 16.5% share.
So despite where people spend their dollars most, it may not be their favorite store after all.
In 2014, Publix opened its first North Carolina store in Ballantyne Town Center at 11222 Providence Road West. The company has 1,294 stores companywide.
Harris Teeter was founded in 1960 by North Carolina grocers W.T. Harris and Willis Teeter and has 255 stores companywide. Ohio-based Kroger acquired Harris Teeter in 2014 for $2.5 billion.
In December, Kroger said it will open a $92 million fulfillment center in Concord, adding 692 jobs, to help fulfill online orders for same-day and next-day delivery services.
Here’s what you said about Publix, Harris Teeter
On the Charlotte Observer’s Instagram, even the comments see-sawed. Here’s what people had to say:
“Publix ... 100% because of the employees and customer service.”
“Harris Teeter. I’ve never set foot in a Publix.”
“Publix! The subs alone answer that question, easy!”
“HT! I love my fuel perks.”
“I’m happier when I shop at Publix.”
“Publix! The bread is so good. And one of the only major grocery stores that has good Latin food brands.”
“Teeter! Last time I shopped at Publix I noticed everything I buy was more expensive than Teeter.”
“Publix ... they sell ALL my paleo products and their produce is amazing!”
The other grocers who comprised the ballot of the Shoppers’ 16 are: Food Lion, Aldi, The Fresh Market, Trader Joe’s, Lowes Foods, Lidl, Walmart, Whole Foods, Ingles, Sprouts, Target, Earth Fare, Compare Foods and Farmstead.
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 12:00 PM.