Robbie Prior woke up before sunrise on Jan. 15 to stand outside in 27-degree weather awaiting the opening of the Carrollton Publix.

The South Africa transplant, who now lives in Smithfield, said he’s shopped at other Publix stores, including one that opened in Suffolk in 2023, and was impressed by their international food offerings and submarine-style “Pub Subs.”

“I love their sandwiches,” Prior said.

At 7 a.m., he became the Carrollton store’s first customer and was invited to join Isle of Wight County and Publix officials in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the Florida-based grocer’s newest store at 22449 Spadea Way off Carrollton Boulevard.

The 48,387-square-foot grocery store anchors the commercial phase of The Crossings at Bartlett Station, a mixed-use development at Carrollton and Brewers Neck boulevards. It’s Publix’s fourth location in Hampton Roads, following the Dec. 12 opening of a Publix in Virginia Beach and the roughly 45,000-square-foot Publix on Godwin Boulevard in Suffolk. They join an open store in Williamsburg and one listed as “coming soon” in Chesapeake, which will be the fifth.

“On behalf of the Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors it gives me a great deal of pleasure to welcome the Publix team to our community,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Don Rosie. “Thank you to the leadership of Publix for choosing our county for its newest grocery store. Based on all the information we’ve read and heard from customers, the corporate culture and the values of Publix fit well within the culture and values of our county. We’ve had a great deal of excitement building since it was announced that Publix was coming.”

Plans to bring Publix to Carrollton began in 2022 when Crossings developer Jerry Bowman received approval from the 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.

“We’re pretty proud about what’s behind these doors. … We look forward to serving this community each and every day. Welcome to your store,” said Carrollton Publix Manager James Partin.

Prior was the first but not the only customer to brave the cold. Anne Michaelis of Carrollton joined the crowd outside, hoping to find a grand opening sale. Brenda Slade made the trip across the James River Bridge from Hampton. Both said it was their first time setting foot in a Publix.

The Publix includes an additional roughly 7,200 square feet of attached retail space at the corner of Lori Anne Way and Spadea Way, directly behind the new Royal Farms gas station fronting Carrollton Boulevard. None of the six rental units is occupied yet, nor was there signage as of Jan. 15 indicating what businesses would be moving in.

Publix is the third business to open its doors in the commercial phase of The Crossings, following the Royal Farms in August and a new branch of Langley Federal Credit Union earlier in 2024.

The Crossings’ residential phase, which is approved for up to 240 condominium units and 52 single-family homes, broke ground in 2021 and continues to build out.