Rhode Island Bans Grocery Covenants, Targeting Food Deserts Affecting 37% of Woonsocket
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 28
Rhode Island Bans Grocery Covenants, Targeting Food Deserts Affecting 37% of Woonsocket
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 28
Summary
Rhode Island in July became the second state to ban new grocery restrictive covenants, which chains use to block rivals from selling food in vacated stores for years or decades.
In Woonsocket, the issue is acute: 45,000 residents have one full-service supermarket, 37% are food insecure, and at least three covenants limit reuse of former Stop & Shop and Walmart sites.
The law is not retroactive, so existing restrictions remain until they expire; one Woonsocket site is tied up until 2034, while a Richmond property vacant for 30 years can now be re-leased without a new covenant.
Independent grocers say the ban could open more viable sites, but financing still blocks expansion—one planned Woonsocket store has seen projected costs jump from $3 million-$4 million to more than double that.
The measure is part of a broader push spreading from cities to states, with California weighing a stronger retroactive ban and U.S. senators asking the FTC to examine federal action.