A brand-new Publix has opened its doors at Rockfish Village, a shopping center taking shape just outside the Hope Mills town limits, and it's not just another grocery store. The 48,387-square-foot supermarket, which opened Oct. 21, features a mezzanine level — a design twist that developers say makes it stand out from every other grocery store in the county.
The store is part of Rockfish Village, a new shopping center in Fayetteville anchored by Publix, according to The Fayetteville Observer. Publix itself confirmed the opening date in a release from corporate.publix.com, which also detailed the store's full-service deli, produce department, bakery, meat department, seafood counter, and pharmacy with a drive-thru. The grocer is the second Publix to open in Fayetteville; the chain's first local store opened at Tallywood Shopping Center off Raeford Road back in November 2017, per the Observer's report.
A Two-Story Grocery First for Cumberland County
The mezzanine level is what sets this location apart — the Observer's reporting describes it as Cumberland County's first grocery store featuring a second-story design. Rockfish Village itself is anchored by this two-story Publix, giving the development a distinctive visual centerpiece as it continues to fill in around it.
Brett Horowitz, asset manager for Atlanta-based developer Branch Properties, confirmed the center's new lineup of tenants on the day the Publix opened. According to the same Fayetteville Observer report, Horowitz said having Publix as the anchor tenant helped draw other businesses to Rockfish Village, and that the grocer brings daily traffic to the center that smaller retailers depend on.
Restaurants and Retailers Lining Up to Join
The tenant roster taking shape at Rockfish Village includes Chicken Salad Chick, Touchdown Wings, QDOBA Mexican Eats, Murphy USA, Chase Bank, Degree Wellness and Luxe Nails, per Horowitz's confirmation reported by the Observer. Chicken Salad Chick is no stranger to the area — the chain opened its first Cumberland County location on Raeford Road in 2022, and the Rockfish Village spot will mark its second in the county.
Touchdown Wings is also slated to join the Rockfish Village lineup. QDOBA has followed a similarly brisk pace, opening its Skibo Road location near Target in November 2025 and its second Fayetteville location at Ramsey Commons in March 2026, with Rockfish Village slated to be its third in the city. Those openings line up with QDOBA's broader push into the market; the chain had already opened its first Fayetteville restaurant on Skibo Road in November 2025 before adding the Ramsey Commons location this past March, which BizFayetteville reported was expected to create more than 25 new jobs.
What's Still Undecided
Not every deal is locked in. Horowitz told the Observer that a veterinary clinic and a coffee shop new to the market could also land at Rockfish Village, but that neither business has signed a lease yet. Per Horowitz, retailers are expected to begin opening in the center's outparcels within the next six months.
The Observer's report also notes roughly 6,700 square feet of vacant retail space remains at the center. Horowitz said he hopes that space will eventually be filled by more restaurants, service businesses and medical tenants, rounding out a shopping center designed to serve a fast-growing pocket of Fayetteville.
Rockfish Village Takes Shape Near Hope Mills
Rockfish Village sits just outside the Hope Mills town limits. BizFayetteville's earlier coverage of the land deal noted that the site sits within two miles of the I-295 beltway expansion connecting to I-95.
Total square footage for the full shopping center has been described differently across project materials — Branch Properties' brochure lists Rockfish Village at 76,887 square feet, while BizFayetteville's 2024 report on the land acquisition put the center at 76,237 square feet. Branch Properties, together with partner Columbia Properties, acquired 16.7 acres for the project, with plans calling for 27,850 square feet of inline retail space and 2.4 acres of outparcels, according to BizFayetteville's report at the time. Preliminary plans reviewed by the Observer in 2024 also showed 423 parking spaces and a new roundabout designed to help traffic flow through the site.
