The province of Vorarlberg has one of the highest densities of retail space for food in all of Europe. Small food retailers nowadays can only be found in small municipalities in rural alpine parts of the province and are battling large competitors. These supermarkets are nowadays situated on car-depented locations at the intersections of regional and national roads. However, small retailers gain in importance from a social perspective. In many cases, they are the last public spaces where the inhabitants of small villages can meet and they are an important player to secure the political goal of equal living conditions in the whole province. Dr. Johannes Herburger, postdoc at the Urbanism, Architecture and Society unit of the University of Liechtenstein was interviewed by ORF Vorarlberg about the importance of these small retailers.