As supermarkets first appeared on the scene, they displaced many butcher shops, small general merchandise stores, and bakeries. But a recent article in the Wall Street Journal reports that the same may be happening to supermarkets. The first supermarket was a Piggly Wiggly store launched in Memphis in 1916. In 1930, King Kullen in Queens, New York, was the first store to establish large-format shopping with separate food departments and discount pricing. As suburbs sprang up across the nation and car ownership became widespread, supermarket growth exploded. Market shares increased from 35 percent in 1950 to 70 percent in 1960....

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