I have never understood the dearth of inexpensive smaller-format grocery stores in Boston. When I lived in London I did most of my grocery shopping at my local 10k-ish sf Tesco Metro, and while I am far from the world's most sophisticated chef it was a rare occurrence when I couldn't find what I was looking for there. Those stores have produce, meat, bakery, frozen, and prepared food sections as well as all of your basic packaged foods and toiletries, they just stock only one or two different SKUs of everything instead of the dozens that US grocery stores carry. I remember staring in awe at the (seemingly endless) mayonnaise aisle in the Porter Square Shaws when I got home.
There are
195 of these smaller-format (average size of 11k sf) Tesco Metros in the UK (probably mostly in London), plus hundreds more smaller-format urban Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer Simply Food, Waitrose, and other stores. The places in Boston most similar to these seem to lack any selection of non-packaged food and/or have prices way above your typical proper grocery store.
Do American consumers really demand forty-seven different types of toothpaste or is this just a question of density? Do you see more stores like this in other dense American cities such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco? I know DC is pretty much the same as Boston.
