At U.S. 17 and Calabash Road, the Grocery Store Was Always Going to Open First

Publix was scheduled to open its doors at The Commons at Carolina Shores at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28. That makes it the first finished piece of the new retail corner at U.S. 17 and Calabash Road. It will not be the last piece for a while. The supercenter across the highway has no opening date. Eleven shop tenants next to the grocery store each have their own construction schedule, and the developer's spokesperson has put many of those openings in the fourth quarter of 2026 or early 2027.

The grocery store, the supercenter and each storefront are separate building jobs on separate timelines, so the corner will fill in a little at a time through the holidays and into next year.

How the Grocery Store Got Ahead of Its Own Estimate

Before that date was set, The Brunswick Beacon reported that the Publix-anchored center was expected to open in November. Then the company set its own date. WECT reported on Sept. 29 that the store would open Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7 a.m. with about 140 employees, and Publix media-relations manager Jared Glover told the station the company was excited to welcome customers. The StarNews reported the same date, citing a Publix news release.

Publix's new store openings list shows the location as store #2029 at Commons at Carolina Shores. It is 46,791 square feet and includes a pharmacy.

The grocery store moved faster than the rest of the center for a simple reason. Publix is the anchor building. The smaller storefronts beside it went through a separate handoff. Branch Properties spokesperson Sarah Weston told the Beacon that shop spaces were expected to be turned over to tenants in September for their own buildouts. After that, each tenant finishes its own interior construction, which puts many of them on track for the fourth quarter of 2026 or early 2027.

In other words, a storefront that got its keys in September was only starting its build-out. Each tenant hires its own contractor, gets its own fixtures and equipment, and follows its own corporate opening process.

One Anchor, Eleven Schedules

The Beacon lists these confirmed tenants, Publix included:

• Food and coffee: McDonald's, Dunkin', Cutty's Pizza, Firehouse Subs, Eggs Up Grill
• Errands and services: Chase Bank, 7-Eleven, Great Clips, Nail Eden
• Health: Heartland Dental, Benchmark Physical Therapy
• Anchor: Publix

Weston also said three retail spaces were still available and that Branch Properties was in active talks with prospective tenants. That means the center's final lineup is not settled yet.

Cutty's Pizza shows what "early 2027" can look like for one tenant. In March, WMBF reported that owners Ron and Alex Cardello expected to move into their new space in October and were aiming to open by the start of 2027. They planned to keep serving customers at the Little River location in the meantime. A move-in in October and an opening around New Year's is roughly the timeline Weston described for the whole center. Cutty's is just the tenant whose plans were made public.

The Supercenter Across the Highway Is a Separate Project

The Walmart Supercenter sits on the southbound side of U.S. 17. Its address is 9700 Ocean Highway West, Calabash, near the Carolina Shores community. It has a different owner, a different builder and a different schedule from the Publix center.

In August, the StarNews reported that both stores were in their final stages of construction and expected to open before the end of the year. Walmart later set a grand opening for Oct. 7. On Sept. 16, WWAY reported that the company had postponed that date and had not announced a new one. No reason was given for the delay.

WWAY reported two other details. The store is expected to employ about 450 associates, and Walmart said it was still hiring for positions there.

Where Each Piece Stands

Here is the latest public timeline for each part of the corner as of late October 2026.

The Lanes Out Front

The road work is the part of this project that touches people who will never shop there. According to the Beacon, the development includes improvements to U.S. 17 and Calabash Road: added travel lanes, new U-turns and dedicated entry lanes into the shopping center.

The road work had a target date too. In the Town of Carolina Shores' July 13 meeting packet, Mayor Dan Conte said the developer's contractor had indicated the turn-lane construction on U.S. 17 would be done by Sept. 3. The town's September 14 packet listed "Roadway: No new updates." Neither packet says the work is complete. The town's monthly packets are where the next official roadway update will appear.

The new U-turns and entry lanes were built for a corner with all of these businesses open. This fall, Publix is the only one on the calendar. Traffic will grow as the shop tenants open and Walmart sets a date, and that is likely to happen gradually over the winter.

The Holiday Calendar Doesn't Depend on Any of This

While the new corner fills in, the season's familiar dates are still on the calendar a few miles away. They do not depend on any contractor's schedule. Check with the organizers before you go, since listings can change.

• One Love Market fall Saturdays: Oct. 31 and Nov. 7, 14 and 21, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., across from the Sunset Beach Fishing Pier, according to One Love Market.
• Calabash Christmas Tree Lighting & Parade: Friday, Dec. 4, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Callahan's of Calabash, 9973 Beach Drive SW. The event listing describes a route along Beach Drive to River Road with caroling, cocoa, Santa and the tree lighting. Roads on the route close at 5:45 p.m.
• One Love Market Christmas Festival & Holiday Market: Sunday, Dec. 6, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sea Trail Convention Center in Sunset Beach.

When the parade closes Beach Drive on Dec. 4, Publix will have been open for about five weeks if it opened on schedule. Some of its neighbors may be close to opening by then, and others may still be working toward early 2027.

If you live near U.S. 17 and are wondering how the new corner affects your plans for your home, Cristina Sullivan is glad to talk it through with you, with no pressure. You can request a home valuation or browse the Calabash area guide. Let's Connect.