Ruler grocery in downtown Madison is closing, employees to be offered positions at Kroger and Jay C stores in the region.

According to Mayor Damon Welch’s office, At 9:00am today he attended a  discussion with Kroger Corporate, and was informed of the company’s intention to close the Ruler Foods store in downtown Madison effective March 31st.

A representative from Kroger the told Mayor that store employees would be informed this morning around 11:00am of the impending closure and all 14 employees would be offered positions in other Kroger and Jay-C stores in the region.

Mayor Welch stated , “My concern in this situation is twofold; first for the employees that find their livelihood in that store and second for the downtown area which deserves a quality grocery store. We have been concerned about the viability of that store since it was switched from Jay-C to Ruler, and we have attempted to work with the Kroger Company and the local owner of the property to make enhancements there. In fact, we had already made plans to work with the owner on numerous improvements to the exterior of the property this summer.We are undoubtedly disappointed in today’s news, but we are appreciative of Kroger’s continued presence on the hilltop. A downtown grocery store is vital to thousands of downtown residents, employers, and thousands of visitors each year. I am committed to working with the property owner, Chamber, Economic Development, and Main Street program moving forward to ensure that the property will again be a vibrant spot in our downtown area.”