Over the last decade or so, however, grocery-anchored development has been somewhat overlooked in the lifestyle shuffle, with downtown urban retail centers and mixed-use projects dominating the headlines. More and more, newer developments that featured a grocery component had turned to specialty markets, gourmet grocers and other niche tenants. Mainstream grocery has not gone away, but the steady glow of dependable grocery-anchored development has been somewhat obscured by the bright flashing lights of the lifestyle center trend. While most of the developers that have always seen grocery-anchored centers as their focus have continued to design, build, lease and manage the same reliable projects, some have been lured towards projects featuring entertainment components, upscale retail and trendy food concepts.

The recent economic slowdown, however, has turned back the clock and once again focused the industry's attention on the steady success of the grocery anchor. The appeal of grocery-anchored projects is clear once again, and the trend is driven by a very simple fact that has not changed: people need food! Grocery stores have proven their worth as a reliable way to drive traffic, no matter what challenges are taking place in the larger economic landscape. It is no different today than it was 50 years ago: a family might or might not go out to eat at a restaurant, but they will always need to go to the grocery store. In fact, some changes in consumer behavior during leaner economic times—smaller purchases but more frequent trips, for example—may even provide more of a boost by increasing exposure and creating additional foot traffic to a project. For consumers and developers alike, the current financial belt-tightening has motivated a resurgence of a back-to-the-basics mentality. Increasingly, "meat and potatoes" is more than just a menu item, it is an appealing philosophy adopted by owners and developers who find themselves faced with a suddenly struggling portfolio and a stagnant credit market, particularly when lenders have shown confidence in grocery-anchored retail.

Developers embracing or re-embracing the grocery-anchored community center formula are discovering what those developers who have remained true to the format already know: while some of the details have certainly evolved over the years, the fundamental dynamics of a grocery-anchored center remain the same. The fact that sales numbers at low-and-medium-end grocers are steady and perhaps even inching up, coupled with the popularity of the "superstores," is further evidence that consumers are "trading down" in product type and destination from higher-end grocers and specialty selections.