Is it just a matter of zoning laws? Because in strictly economic terms, it seems to me like it would be very advantageous to open a grocery store in a neighborhood that is devoid of them.
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Grocery stores make very little money, and only do so if they have advantageous deals with suppliers, high markups, or economies of scale. The 1st thing is not something that every company can do, they all try but most fail. High markups only work for certain types of grocery stores like high end or ethnic stores where their clientele can afford the high markups – food deserts are typically in lower income areas where this isn’t possible. Economies of scale obviously require large volumes, which only happens if there is a large amount of demand, which isn’t really the case in many food deserts due to issues with transportation or not having the time or knowledge to cook from scratch.
There have been efforts to open grocery stores in food deserts before but they typically go out of business due to these factors.
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