Decline of independent corner stores (2010s-2020s)
Independent bodegas and corner stores across U.S. cities have closed or been bought by chains as national retailers expand and thin-margin food sales get tougher. The share of convenience stores owned by single-store operators has fallen for years while chain-owned locations grow.
Neighborhoods lose walkable food and service outlets, and storefronts sit vacant.
The retail mix tilts toward chains, leaving fewer independently owned shops in city corridors.
If One Stop Market has closed, it extends a long-running thinning of single-location corner stores. If the license merely lapsed, the registry shows how easily a quiet business can vanish from public records either way.
