- 2017 · store gap, annualized
- $1,652.56/yr Same 17-item basket: Trader Joe's $48.05 vs Hana Natural $79.83 — 1.66x, ×52 weeks.
- 2021 · budget-basket spread
- 2.37x 6 staples, cheapest-available: Shop Fair $12.23 → Hana Natural $29.01 ≈ $872.56/yr.
- 2026 · full-basket spread
- 1.21x $102.64 → $123.80 as printed — 1.29x on the fair common-18 basket (availability holes clip both tails).
- BLS coffee since the 2021 survey
- +96.4% National average ground coffee $4.816 → $9.457/lb. Bushwick's Bustelo brick did worse: +204%.
- Did Bushwick outpace inflation?
- 4 of 7 Comparable stores beat the F9 break-even (NY-metro food CPI +34.42% since 2017); Hana & Food Story fell ~14% short. Lower-bound method — see fine print in panel 1.
Panel 1 · basket league tables
2021: the budget-basket league — $12.23 to $29.01, a 2.37x spread
Cheapest-available eggs, banana, peanut butter, cheddar, greens and coffee, priced in one visit per store, Nov 2021. Bars in brand ink; the spread's endpoints wear their store colors.
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Panel 2 · the 2026 composition dimension
2026: where the money goes — basket totals by food group
Six food-group subtotals per store, colored by food group (stores are rows, identified by label). Dairy is the biggest line almost everywhere; the premium stores lose on treats and pantry, not staples.
Widest group spread: Treats & Alcohol 2.82x (Mr. Lemon $8.49 — a beer hole — to Hana $23.98). Tightest: Dairy 1.39x, and the cheapest dairy in the survey is Whole Foods ($19.06). Whole Foods' one expensive group, Pantry & Beverages ($24.28), is entirely the $16.99 illy coffee.
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Panel 3 · the sales tracker
2026: 13 real discounts move $21.68 — and decide podium positions
Total visit-day savings captured per store (sale vs shelf price), 2026-07-13/14. The 2021 survey never recorded sales; this one did.
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Panel 4 · the coffee cliff
BLS national item prices, Nov 2021 → Jun 2026: coffee towers over everything
Change in the national average price by item. Red = rose, navy = fell. These are national benchmarks, not Bushwick shelves — the 2026 index is the local confirmation.
Chicken legs are the only line that got cheaper (−2.60%). Bushwick's same-brand Bustelo brick rose +204.3% over the window — roughly double the national coffee move.
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Panel 5 · stars vs receipts
2021: the price stars were honest — except readers' favorite City Fresh
Each dot is a store: measured 6-item basket vs the article's price-star rating (dot size = quality composite). Rank correlation 0.77. Only the three narrative stores wear color.
City Fresh: 4 price stars but the 2nd most expensive basket ($20.34, rank 8 of 9) — the ink segment is its $18.34–$21.34 sensitivity band. Best value: Key Food (quality 4.75 at $13.12). Worst: Hana Natural (4.50 at $29.01).
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Panel 6 · shelf drill-down
2026, item by item: every store's shelf price
Pick an item to see all 12 stores' effective prices (= sale price when lower). A grey whisker to a hollow tick marks the regular shelf price on sale rows. Comparability flags print on the receipt — never hidden.