Catch a Fireflies game, grab dinner at Gather COLA, and pick up your groceries — soon you’ll be able to do all three in one trip to the BullStreet District.
Publix Super Markets announced it will open a new 50,325-sqft store at Bull Street and Colonial Drive, next to REI Co-Op, marking a milestone for Cola’s largest urban redevelopment project.
The new supermarket expands walkable access to groceries for the more than 1,000 people who call BullStreet home, plus thousands more living in nearby neighborhoods. It also answers what city officials say has been the top request from Columbians since BullStreet first broke ground.
“The addition of Publix to the BullStreet District is another big step in the transformation of BullStreet into a destination that serves the entire region,” said Robert Hughes, president of Hughes Development Corporation.
Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann echoed that, noting that downtown hasn’t seen a major grocery investment since Publix opened its Gervais Street location in 2004. “This announcement brings real relief to what has long been a grocery desert in our capital city,” he said.
City Councilman Tyler Bailey, who chairs the BullStreet Commission, said neighborhoods surrounding the district have long advocated for a grocery option. “This has been the number one request of Columbia residents for BullStreet since its inception,” he said. “Now we’ll have one.”
Publix, the largest employee-owned company in the US, operates more than 70 stores in SC. Groundbreaking for the BullStreet location is expected in summer 2026.
The store will join the district’s growing mix of businesses, which includes Segra Park, Starbucks, Methodical Coffee, Tupelo Honey, Gather COLA food hall, the Grand Willow hotel, and the new USC Health Sciences Campus that’s currently under construction.
