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Ask Matt ... about Publix

Q. I keep hearing rumors that Publix will open a store in Hendersonville. Are any of those true?

My contacts with Publix are not denying interest in Henderson County but they have not signaled a location or a date. We do know that they have had people on the ground doing the research. As reported here last year, the former Harris-Teeter store on Spartanburg Highway at 33,000 square feet would be too small for Publix. Finding five acres of developable land on a well-traveled road is a challenge but local landowners and developers have offered several parcels or have assembled parcels for a possible deal from the area around the Harris-Teeter to the area around the intersection of Spartanburg and Greenville highways. The new 50,000-square-foot Publix under construction in Arden is projected to open in early 2015. It would not be good business sense for the Florida-based company to venture into a region such as Western North Carolina and open just one store. Stay tuned.

mattmattesonMatt MattesonQ. Do non-natives outnumber natives here in the county?

Yes. The 2010 US Census put Henderson County at 106,978 but less than half of our population (48.8%) was even born in North Carolina. Since the census forms did not ask for the specific county in which one was born, there is no official count of how many actual Henderson County natives resided here in 2010. If I had to guess, I would say that between 35 and 40 percent of our current population was actually born in Henderson County. If people would just stay put, this job could be a lot easier.

Q. Why is it that the restaurant grades they post always seem to be in the high 90s and you never see anyone getting 100?

You are referring to the sanitation grades assigned to restaurants by our local health inspectors. According to Seth Swift, Henderson County's Environmental Health Supervisor, it is technically possible for a restaurant to receive a 100 rating and he has seen such grades across the state, but none here. This is probably because of the long list of inspection items and the unlikelihood of a restaurant passing all of them. Just the fact that there are customers in the restaurant can lead to minor violations. A grade of 100 to 90 is an A; 89 to 80 is a B; and 79 to 70 is a C. Any facility receiving less than 70 would be closed immediately. The hours of operation and type of food service determine the frequency of inspection. According to Swift, most Henderson County restaurants are inspected two or four times per year.

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Ask Matt a question by writing to askmattm@gmail.com.