Perhaps the most startling development to emerge from the pandemic — now that we’re being assured that the worst is behind us — is the emergence, or reemergence, of the regional grocery retailer. It is reasonably safe to say that the local or regional supermarket retailer is stronger and more clearly dominant today than at any time in the past three decades.

Should you doubt the veracity of that statement, you need only look at a map of the United States. Pick a state or an area or a region. The Northeast? Wegmans, Stop & Shop, Giant Food of Landover, Md., and countless other, less well-known names come to mind. Sure, the national supermarket chains remain among the leaders. But the exciting, innovative food chains are, likely as not, the regional ­players.

Glance to the South and consider Publix. Move your glance to the left, to the Southwest or Midwest. Here, the regional food retailers are arguably the best that America has to offer. Consider H-E-B or Hy-Vee. Look at Meijer.

Out West the situation is not much different. The major California-based food chains are beyond compare. But the regional players, like Raley’s, are giving them a run for their money — and often beating them when it comes to innovative merchandising or state-of-the-art stores.

The lesson is obvious. He who wants to learn about food retailing in America, let him study the regional chains.

The more difficult question to grasp is more easily stated, if not more easily understood. The question is: Why?

As is invariably the case with success, there is no one answer — and no easy answer. But here are some possible suggestions — and some cause for speculation. For openers, a case can be justifiably made that the brightest grocery minds in today’s food environment are those driving the regional retailers. For one thing, they have often grown up in the business, meaning they are closer to the ground — and closer to the customer. It follows, then, that they understand the customer more thoroughly, and more acutely, than their counterparts at the national food ­retailers.

Then, too, they’ve been at their jobs longer, generally speaking, than their larger competitors, because they’ve started at entry-level jobs and worked their way to senior management. Through this period of growth and the acquisition of knowledge, they have lived among their customers. Indeed, they have often been part of a customer-family, discussing the pros and cons of the various food retailers in their neighborhood. Finally, they have never had to wrestle with the challenge of geographical transfer, one day in Seattle, the next in Miami.

But management experience and ability aside, top and middle managers of regional food chains have been lucky. They have repeatedly demonstrated an ability to anticipate and take early advantage of the newest trend, the latest fad, the new normal. A recent example is the emergence of the supermarket as a health care center. Recognizing this expansion in no way detracts or makes less of such professional health care retailers as Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Target, Rite Aid or a plethora of regional drug chains, dollar stores and price clubs that have rushed to embrace the new emphasis on wellness. Truth is, however, supermarkets, with the built-in advantage of a weekly shopper, have often been there first, and have integrated health care into their food offerings. In the process, they have successfully offered the customer something more — a more complete shopping experience.

None of this is to imply, by any means, that the day of the nonfoods retailer is past — or passing. But the growth and success of the regional food retailer in America is a trend worth noting. And it appears, at this relatively early date, a trend that will only gather momentum, at least through the remainder of this decade.