BRANDON, Miss. (WJTV) – Brandon leaders held a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday for the construction of a new grocery store.

The grocery store, Sullivan’s Marketplace, is part of a construction project that will bring restaurants and other retail outlets to the city. The store will be located near Home Depot off of Orleans Way.

“There is a lot of positive momentum going on in Rankin County and in Brandon. We were going off like a skyrocket back before COVID hit, and now that’s been realized again. I can’t say how excited I am that a great company like Sullivan’s is going to be here,” said Brandon Mayor Butch Lee.

Marketplace co-owner Parker Sullivan said the project has been more than one year in the making.

“We appreciate Brandon for accepting us. We stood here almost exactly a year ago to make the announcement that we’re here. It took a little longer than we anticipated, but I think we have something special that we’ll bring to Brandon,” Sullivan said.

There are currently nine Sullivan’s Marketplaces operating in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The Brandon location will become the 10th in the region.

The grocery store will encompass 35,000 square feet of space and provide jobs for approximately 100 full-time and part-time employees, with an additional 25,000 square feet of retail space. Officials said construction is expected to take about 15 months.