If cheaper grocery prices would pull people away from more expensive stores then Wholefoods wouldn't exist. People don't simply go to the cheapest grocery store.

"Of course, with prices much cheaper than in other parts, you will likely get crowding at these stores. Leading to the infamous bread lines of the Soviet Union or Venezuela or what have you."

There are over 100+ no-questions-asked community-run pantries in NYC where you can get groceries for free, not to mention others that ask for some sort of ID. You'd think that the crowding and bread lines would form here first no?

>People don't simply go to the cheapest grocery store.

You should look into how dollar stores eviscerated rural markets. Or even what walmart did.

People absolutely go to the cheapest stores. Whole Foods selling to a wealthier minority is not a counter factual here.