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A not-so-well-kept secret is out of the bag: Publix is coming to Suffolk.

After more than a year of speculation, the Florida-based supermarket chain made official Thursday morning its plans to open a 45,000-square-foot store in the Planters Station development at Godwin Boulevard and Kings Fork Road.

“It is rewarding to see this project make an official announcement,” said Deputy City Manager Kevin Hughes, a longtime economic developer in Suffolk. “It has been a team effort by many in coordination with the landowner, developer team, City Council and city staff to encourage Publix’s investment and assist them through the permitting process. We are excited to welcome Publix to the City of Suffolk, and are happy that they recognized the opportunity that exists in this growing part of our city.”

Jared Glover, the company’s media relations manager, said a timeframe for opening has not been set. 

The Suffolk store will be Publix’s first in south Hampton Roads. The company has a store in Williamsburg and more than a dozen in the Richmond area. It also has a location in Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks.

Roughly 6.4 acres of the 44-acre Planters Station development was rezoned from commerce park to general commercial to accommodate the grocer.

In Suffolk, Publix will join a crowded grocery sector that includes Aldi, Lidl, Food Lion, Harris Teeter and Kroger and Walmart.

Based in Lakeland, Florida, Publix is the largest employee-owned company in the United States and has nearly 1,300 stores throughout the Southeast, including Florida (832), Georgia (194), Alabama (82), South Carolina (64), Tennessee (52), North Carolina (51) and Virginia (19).