Photo by His and Hers Parigi

Publix is big in Florida, while Stop & Shop is largely found in New Jersey, New York and New England. Could either one make inroads into D.C.? Maybe! Bloomberg reported today that both supermarket chains have been eyeing a purchase of Harris Teeter, which two weeks ago confirmed that it was considering a sale:

Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. (HTSI), the Matthews, North Carolina-based grocery chain exploring a sale, has drawn interest from Publix Super Markets Inc. (PUSH), said people with knowledge of the situation.

Royal Ahold NV (AH), the Dutch owner of Stop & Shop stores, also expressed interest in Harris Teeter, people familiar with the situation said last week. Neither firm has made an offer, according to the people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the process is private. First-round bids aren’t due until mid-March or later, the people said.

Harris Teeter has expanded aggressively in D.C. in recent years, with three current stores (Capitol Hill, Kalorama and NoMA) and one coming to Navy Yard.

Everything is currently in the preliminary stages, though; Publix was quick to tamp down on the speculation today, telling the Orlando Business Journal that any rumors of a potential purchase of Harris Teeter were just that—a rumor.

All of this, of course, assumes that either chain would re-brand existing Harris Teeter’s. There’s reasons to think they wouldn’t. Still, Harris Teeter could become Giant; Stop & Shop is owned by the same company as Giant, after all. Publix, though, has said it wants to expand northward, so it could slap its name on the three (soon to be four) stores.