Neighborhood Changers: Rich People Slumming It At Ralphs?*

This would seem to make sense since everyone--rich or poor--is changing their spending habits. Via the Garment & Citizen, word that perhaps upscale shoppers are flocking to Ralphs rather than Gelson's or Whole Foods. Via the paper: "A tipster says there have been more shoppers than usual at the Downtown Ralphs and other relatively upscale grocers around the 1st & 15th of each month lately—and smaller turnouts in between. Could be an indication that the upper crust is feeling the economic downturn enough to time their grocery runs around bi-weekly paydays—a standard pattern in blue-collar neighborhoods in good times and bad?" Clearly, another video--to study the perhaps-changing Ralphs demographic--is in order. UPDATE: The pitfalls of blogging. Jerry Sullivan, editor of G & C, writes in to tell us that we've misinterpreted the story. He writes: "...the item referred to Ralphs "and other relatively upscale" grocers--as opposed to Food 4 Less, Save-A-Lot, and other chains or independents. The point is that the upper-scale folks are still shopping at the same places, but they appear to be falling into a 1st & 15th payday routine--akin to patterns that are standard in blue-collar neighborhoods, where budgets tend to get tight between paychecks." [Garment & Citizen]