The Economics of a Corner Store

The bodega on my block sells roughly four hundred items in a space smaller than most living rooms. The owner, Hassan, knows the margin on every one of them. Milk loses money. Lottery tickets barely break even. Cigarettes, coffee, and sandwiches keep the lights on.

He opens at six and closes at midnight, seven days a week, with help from his brother and a nephew. By his estimate the store clears about as much as a mid-level office job, spread across three people and ninety hours a week.

Why do it? He shrugs. The neighborhood needs it. His kids went to college on it. And he likes, he says, knowing everyone's name.