Former Grocer Criticizes NYC Mayor’s Plan for Government-Run Grocery Stores

A former grocer has joined the critics of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposal for government-run grocery stores. He warns it could negatively impact hundreds of small businesses forced to compete with these stores.

“That supermarket will just bleed red the entire time it’s open, from the first time you turn the key until it closes,” said Rep. Mike Rulli, R-Ohio, in an interview with Fox News Digital. “And I would bet the farm there’s no way these grocery stores last more than five years — they might not even last a year.” Rulli’s background includes growing up with his family’s grocery store chain, Rulli Brothers, in Ohio, which his brothers now operate.

Experts have harshly criticized Mamdani’s plan as an ‘illusion’ that would burden taxpayers.

Mamdani, the Democratic socialist mayor of New York City, introduced the plan while campaigning. The city has allocated $70 million to build one store in each borough by 2030. Earlier, Mamdani stated at a news conference that, “Once a month, our five city-run grocery stores will set prices for this core set of goods at 30% below typical retail prices.”

Progressives have welcomed the plan, but it has faced backlash from business organizations. The Multicultural Business Coalition, for instance, reportedly planned legal action against Mamdani, according to the New York Post.

Rulli pointed out the thin profit margins on which grocery stores operate. He believes Mamdani’s stores would run “at a loss the entire time.”

“The grocery industry operates on about 27% gross. That’s before you cover any expenses. Once those are paid, you’re left with about one-and-a-quarter to one-and-half percent net,” Rulli said. This, he argued, would only add to taxpayers’ burdens while these stores remained operational.

This adds to Rulli’s belief that “This is the biggest mistake the mayor has made,” Rulli concluded.

Elizabeth Elkind, a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, wrote the article. Her previous work has appeared in the Daily Mail and CBS News.