The smallest state in the union has only 105 supermarkets (for reference, that's less than half of the number of supermarkets in Manhattan alone). But we're going to be taking a look at a few of them, even though my coverage isn't too extensive. There's still a lot of fun things to see here! We'll be spending about two weeks in the Bay State, moving from north to south through Burrillville, North Smithfield, Smithfield, North Scituate, then a few stops in Providence (but of course nowhere near a full tour of all the stores in Providence), with two final stops in the Newport area in Portsmouth and Tiverton. Like Connecticut, Rhode Island has quite a few independent stores that are really fun to visit. In fact, we won't be seeing any big-chain supermarkets here in Rhode Island (but rest assured, there are plenty of Stop & Shops and Shaw's). We're starting with our first store tomorrow in Burrillville!
Interesting that we can measure how many supermarkets a state has. And 105 is sure a big effort to build and maintain!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely harder to do with there being more smaller/independent type stores, much easier to count the number of, say Stop & Shop or Shaw's locations :)
DeleteI do my best based on all the chains' websites, Google Maps, and other sources. Here's what I have... https://marketguide.marketreportblog.com/
DeleteAgreed, the independents are harder to track down!
Some might think that's because one needs a handful of Manhattan supermarkets to make one regular one anywhere else, though these first couple in Rhode Island are quite a bit closer to the size of those seen in the greater NYC area than to most other suburban type stores in size.
ReplyDeleteTrue. There's definitely a range -- and it's New England, so many stores are older and smaller. Rhode Island has its fair share of Stop & Shops and Shaw's (Shaw'ses?) but also a surprisingly large number of independent supermarkets like those first few.
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