New Publix Officially Opens at Eagle Point

Cookeville residents lined the parking lot early to be the first customers at the new Publix Super Market Wednesday morning.

Linda Bouska and her husband are Florida natives and Cookeville residents since 2009. She said they were excited to see the store finally open.

“Publix, it’s here finally… we’re so excited,” Bouska said. “Publix is like baseball and apple pie and the USA to us anyway. Of course, we’re from Florida and we grew up with Publix.”

Bouska said her favorite aspect of Publix stores has always been the quality she sees when she enters the store.

Citizens enter Publix in Cookeville during the store’s grand opening Wednesday morning. Publix is the first store to open at the Shoppes at Eagle Point (Photo: Logan Weaver)

“The service, bakery – the bakery for sure – and it’s just clean with wide isles,” Bouska said. “Hopefully that’s what this will be also. But we still support the other stores too, we will. But Publix will more than likely be our main store.”

Jennifer and Jason Gentry, of Cookeville, were also excited to the the store finally open.

“We are from Florida and we moved up here about seven months ago, so we know what a Publix is and we are so happy to have one here,” Jennifer said. “And, it’s a great store [and] it’s a great store to shop at,” Jason added.

Cookeville Mayor Ricky Shelton called the grand-opening one of the more anticipated openings the city has ever seen.

“The journey to get here was a very long one, and we’re very very proud that Publix is the first corporate citizen to open in this development,” Shelton said. “Nine months ago, we sat under a tent… and we had the official ribbon cutting for this development after about three years of stressful and long work to make this development happen.”

Putnam County Executive Randy Porter said having Publix come to Cookeville has always been a top priority for the citizens.

“[When] Mayor Shelton and I came into office four years ago, the number one store that everybody was requesting was Publix,” Porter said. “Everywhere I went, that’s what we heard. ‘We want a Publix, we want a Publix.’ Well, today we got one. Isn’t that great?”

Publix will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. The first 1,000 customers to visit Publix Wednesday will receive a free shopping bag.