Hardin County Business Buzz: VA Clinic, Wawa & More

Key Takeaways

• The new VA clinic broke ground on Pear Orchard Road just off Ring Road near Publix. At 62,000 square feet it is bigger than the main Publix, will bring 120 to 150 jobs, and is expected to open in spring or summer of 2027. The Fort Knox VA clinic is not closing.
• Hardin County's first Wawa opens at 8 a.m. Wednesday, July 29 at 2500 Ring Road, on the Cool Springs, Meade, Jalisco corner.
• Kroger Marketplace gas is now open at around 3.19 a gallon; the new Kroger store opens next week.
• A prefab Southern Brew coffee stand, only about 600 square feet, was set in place by crane next to Wendy's off Mulberry, with an August opening expected.
• Suntan City in Radcliff is closing; the Elizabethtown location is rebranding as Wellness City with cryotherapy and red light therapy. All Planet Fitness locations are unaffected.

Summary

Nate Bryan opened this week's Business Buzz with the announcement Hardin County residents have been asking about for years: the new VA clinic broke ground last week on Pear Orchard Road, just off Ring Road near Publix. After nearly three years of planning and a site that was first turned down before the city council overruled the decision, the 62,000 square foot facility is now moving forward, with an expected opening in spring or summer of 2027. Nate also confirmed the county's first Wawa has a firm date, Kroger's new store and gas are coming online, and a tiny prefab coffee stand appeared seemingly overnight off Mulberry.

For a county that keeps growing along Ring Road and Dixie, this was a week of concrete progress: new jobs, new tax revenue, and new places to grab gas, coffee, and a sub. Nate handled the one closing of the week, Suntan City in Radcliff, with the context locals need, and put to rest a rumor before it could start about the gyms in town.

Full Article

Every week people ask Nate Bryan the same question: what is going in next to Publix? This week he had the answer, and it is a big one. The new VA clinic broke ground on Pear Orchard Road, just off Ring Road near the Publix area, after nearly three years of planning and site selection. As Nate reminded viewers, the project was originally turned down by planning and zoning before the city council overruled that decision, so getting to a groundbreaking is a milestone in itself.

The scale is what makes this one stand out. The facility will run about 62,000 square feet, which Nate pointed out is actually bigger than the main Publix, a store that comes in around 56,000 square feet. The clinic will offer primary care, mental health, radiology, laboratory services, pharmacy, physical therapy, audiology, optometry, and multiple specialty clinics. It is expected to employ 120 to 150 people and generate roughly 408,000 dollars a year in local property taxes, plus occupational tax revenue. Nate framed it as more than a services win. "This isn't just services, this is jobs for people in the area, jobs for people coming in, economic impact," he said, adding a nod to housing expert Rachel Brantingham as he ran through the numbers.

One point Nate was careful to clear up: the Fort Knox VA clinic is not closing, and the Louisville VA is staying open too. The new Pear Orchard Road location is added service for veterans across Hardin County, Fort Knox, Meade, and the surrounding area, not a replacement. That distinction landed for the veterans he had spoken with. "I was with a group of veterans on Sunday, and they had asked me about the VA clinic," Nate said. "I was like, well, actually, they broke ground, and here's everything. And it was like a round of applause. They were so thrilled." An opening in spring or summer of 2027 means a shorter drive to care for a lot of local families.

From there Nate rolled into gas station news, two of them. Hardin County's first ever Wawa, the convenience store, deli, and gas station combination, will hold its grand opening at 8 a.m. Wednesday, July 29 at 2500 Ring Road. If you are not sure where that is, Nate placed it on the Cool Springs, Meade, Jalisco corner. He noted there could be a soft opening beforehand, but July 29 is the celebration date. The full press release is posted on his page. And once the Elizabethtown Wawa wraps up, crews are expected to turn to the Radcliff location.

The second gas story: Kroger gas is now open at Kroger Marketplace across from the county offices, and prices were running about 3.19 a gallon, which Nate called pretty good for this area. The new Kroger store itself opens next week, though Nate confessed he will be somewhere in the Caribbean when it happens, so the rest of us will get to check it out first.

The surprise of the week was a coffee stand. A new Southern Brew location, a prefab build from Sevenbrook, appeared almost overnight next to Wendy's, near Shoney's and in front of Cracker Barrel. Nate described driving up to find workers taking photos of a building that had not been there the day before. It was brought in on two semis and set in place with a crane. The stand is small, only about 600 square feet and quite tall, and there will not be a direct entrance off Mulberry, which is probably the safer setup. No official opening date has been announced, but Nate is hearing August, and with such a small footprint and a staff of only about four at a time, he thinks that timeline is doable.

The one closing this week came with plenty of context. Suntan City in Radcliff, at Knox Boulevard and Dixie, is closing, with the show's air day as its last day. The business is consolidating into Elizabethtown, where the Suntan City location is being rebranded as Wellness City. Nate clarified it was not a buyout; the company is rebranding and reorganizing to add cryotherapy and red light therapy. Most important for anyone who saw a rumor start: all of the Planet Fitness locations are good to go. With Iron Brigade Gym recently opened and Guild Fortress on the way, Nate noted the area still has plenty of options.

He closed with a topic every Ring Road driver has an opinion about: roundabouts. "You can't go anywhere without either construction or a roundabout at this point," Nate said, and often it is both, including the big roundabout going in by the new Wawa. Nate happens to love them. The rest of the crew, and a good chunk of the audience, are not so sure. Either way, as Elizabethtown fills in the gaps between Dixie and the bypass, they are part of the landscape now.

This week's Business Buzz aired live from HubHaus in downtown Elizabethtown, the episode's sponsor and one of the reasons the show was in front of a live audience on Main Street.