Kroger Marketplace Opens July 9 in Elizabethtown, KY

Key Takeaways

• Kroger Marketplace officially opens Thursday, July 9th — the new location near Severns Valley and Patriot Parkway finally has a confirmed date.
• The Kroger fuel station opens in May; jobs are already posted on Indeed starting at $17.40/hr.
• No Krogers are closing — all three locations will operate once the new one opens.
• Zaxby's is confirmed for Central Hardin; two Firehouse Subs locations are coming simultaneously.
• Baskin-Robbins is opening summer 2026 with a new build featuring a patio, yard games, and a giant video screen.
• Nate is dropping breaking franchise news tonight between 7 and 9 PM on the Hardin Local Facebook page.

Summary

Nate Bryan brought one of the heaviest Business Buzz segments of the year to S2026E14 — anchored by the news Hardin County has been waiting on for months. Kroger Marketplace has an official opening date: Thursday, July 9th. Add a fuel station opening in May, a Zaxby's approved for Central Hardin, two simultaneous Firehouse Subs locations, Baskin-Robbins under construction, and a new commercial development on Ring Road, and you have a week's worth of business news packed into one segment.

For a community that has been watching that Kroger site go up and wondering when it would actually open, July 9th is the kind of hard date people will mark on their calendar. Nate made clear there is no consolidation happening — all three Kroger locations will remain open once the new one launches.

And Nate wasn't done at the end of the segment. He teased what he called "breaking news" dropping on the Hardin Local Facebook page tonight between 7 and 9 PM — a new franchise confirmed for Elizabethtown with construction already beginning this week.

Full Article

Nate Bryan's Business Buzz on this week's Hardin Local Weekly opened with what may be the single most-anticipated piece of local business news in recent memory: Kroger Marketplace has a confirmed opening date.

Thursday, July 9th.

"The person in the know has confirmed the new Kroger, Kroger Marketplace, Super Kroger, whatever you want to call it — Thursday, July 9th, breaking news, Kroger is opening," Nate announced, delivering the date that shoppers, competitors, and real estate watchers have been speculating about for months.

The new location sits across from Severns Valley, near the Dollar General, Government Center, and Patriot Parkway corridor. But the main store isn't even the first thing to open — the Kroger fuel station is coming in May, and hiring is already underway. Jobs are posted on Indeed for that location starting at $17.40 an hour. "I think that's pretty solid," Nate said.

For anyone who has been wondering whether the new Kroger means one of the existing stores is closing, Nate was direct about it. "None of them are closing. We will have three. They are not closing." He added that he's said this enough times he's running out of ways to say it — but given how often the question comes up in the community, it was worth stating clearly one more time. The Towne Mall Kroger on Towne Drive is also scheduled for a renovation this year, which Nate attributed in part to the new store raising the bar in the market.

On the Publix front, Nate reported it remains on schedule for November. He drove by recently and came back impressed. "I was actually impressed to see how far along Publix was on the interior than it appears on the exterior," he said. The store is over 40,000 square feet and the interior is drywalled — further along than the exterior suggests.

From there, Nate moved into a stretch of restaurant news that showed how quickly the food landscape in Hardin County is shifting.

Zaxby's is officially coming to Central Hardin. It's been approved by the Planning Commission and will be located between the freshman wing of Central Hardin and the current Wendy's. Importantly, Nate noted it will have a full dining room — this isn't a drive-thru-only build. No opening timetable has been announced yet, but the approval is in place.

Firehouse Subs, which Nate had flagged as a single incoming location last week, has doubled up. Two locations are coming simultaneously — one in Radcliff in the former KMB space near the Pizza Hut area, and one at the Shops at Pear Orchard, positioned to benefit from the traffic the Publix development will bring. Bobby Bass is the franchise contact on both locations.

Baskin-Robbins is also under construction with a new build set to open summer 2026. Amy Elder Green confirmed the timeline. The development features an outdoor patio, yard games, and a giant video screen, with sponsorship opportunities opening up next year. Two other retail spots in the same development are still available.

On the commercial development side, Towne Grove is coming to 2651 Ring Road on the First Christian side — a new strip mall with tenants still to be determined.

Locally owned Pop's Coin Laundry celebrates its grand opening this Saturday, April 4th, from 10 AM to 2 PM at 200 Sycamore St, Suite 189 in Elizabethtown. Free drying runs all morning, food is out from 11 to 1, and there will be drawings for free washes throughout the event along with a wash-and-fold discount during grand opening week.

Nate closed the segment with a tease that's going to have people checking their phones tonight. He confirmed a new franchise is coming to Elizabethtown with construction beginning this week, and he has video. The announcement will drop on the Hardin Local Facebook page between 7 and 9 PM tonight. "A new franchise coming to Elizabethtown," Nate said. "It's going to rock people's world. People have been asking about it. It is coming. It is confirmed."