Grocer-turned-lawmaker says Mamdani’s government-run stores ‘might not even last a year’

A former grocer is joining the chorus of criticism against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan for government-run grocery stores, arguing it would harm hundreds of small businesses forced to compete with them.

“That supermarket will just bleed red the entire time it’s open, from the first time you turn the key until it closes,” Rep. Mike Rulli, R-Ohio, told 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 grew up with his family’s Ohio-based grocery store chain, Rulli Brothers, which is now run by his brothers.

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani holds up bananas as he speaks at a food distribution center on July 27, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Rulli said his family’s small but thriving two-location business has given him an appreciation for the challenges facing small business owners in New York City, whom he argued would be harmed by competition from Mamdani’s city-run stores.

“You will put hundreds of these small businesses out of business. And a lot of these businesses are owned by immigrants,” Rulli said. “So I mean, I don’t think the mayor could possibly have asked for a worse situation.”

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Mamdani, the Democratic socialist mayor of New York City, unveiled a plan for government-funded grocery stores while on the campaign trail. The city has since committed $70 million to constructing one store in each of the five boroughs, with an aim to open all five by 2030.

Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, testifies during a House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials hearing on “Rail safety in the aftermath of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment” in Washington, District of Columbia, on July 23, 2024. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Mamdani discussed the agreement during a recent news conference, saying, “Once a month, our five city-run grocery stores will set prices for this core set of goods at 30% below typical retail prices.”

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While the plan has been cheered by progressives, it has been panned by business groups such as the Multicultural Business Coalition, which the New York Post reported was threatening to sue Mamdani.

Rulli, noting that grocery stores already operate on thin profit margins, said Mamdani’s government shops will likely be “operating at a loss the entire time.”

“When you think about the grocery industry, [it] runs on about 27% gross. That’s before you pay your bills. Once you pay your bills, you’re about one-and-a-quarter, one-and-half-percent net,” he said.

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That, he argued, would make it a drain on taxpayers as long as they remained open.

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“This is the biggest mistake the mayor has made,” Rulli said.