Reality: There were traditional supermarket openings in food deserts this year, but innovative concepts have not been widespread. There’s been no recent news on The Daily Table, a salvage grocery concept from ex-Trader Joe’s president Doug Rauch. Although Whole Foods broke ground last summer on a store in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, a food desert that’s an even more unlikely site than its Detroit store, the store won’t open until 2016.
Verdict: The real innovation may come in 2015 and 2016.