“urban Food Desert” - term describes how grocery stores mysteriously avoid inner cities. IS IT ANY WONDER? Why spend half your revenue on security? Why worry about restaurant customers getting robbed in a mass stick up? Why offer pizza or Chinese delivery THERE?
Easier to simply avoid opening a business among such animals.
These particular stores aren’t in the “inner city”, they are in the more upscale or middle class neighborhoods that are fairly low crime. The mobs are now commuting to go where the stealing is better.