Following the announcement that the Foodtown grocery store that operated in Trotwood for 40 years is closing, the city’s mayor remains optimistic that another food retailer will step in to fill the gap.
Trotwood Mayor, Mary McDonald, says she was taken by surprise when local grocer, Jim Davis, announced he will close the Trotwood Foodtown store, as well as another store in Tipp City. However, last week she said she understood what motivated Davis’ decision.
“He explained to me that for about the last five years he has been operating at a negative and he really needed to make some decisions that were best for him and his life," she said. "So, his choice to close the grocery store down is really out of the sense that they're not necessarily making the dollars that they need to make to be successful."
The Foodtown closure leaves the city without a typical full service grocery story but McDonald says residents can still shop at GFS. Traditionally, a restaurant food supplier, the mayor says GFS has been offering Trotwood shoppers the smaller quantities and sizes of items found at grocery stores. She also says the city hopes to find a permanent grocer to take over the Foodtown location.
“As in every community we like our hometown grocery store and we continue to open an opportunity for anyone who is looking to take on a grocery store we're looking to have each and every one of them to consider us as a location of choice."
The Foodtown stores in Trotwood and Tipp City are expected to close by September 15. Davis has two other stores in Sydney and Drexel that will remain open.
