It was announced this week that Bartram and Son will be closing and combining with a Food Fair store that is set to move into the Pick’n Save location at Ironton Hills Plaza in Ironton.

We are glad to hear that there will still be a grocery store at the shopping center, something that was a major concern when Pick’n Save announced earlier this year that it would be closing their Ironton store.

And we are heartened to hear that Tim Forth, owner and president of Forth Foods and Food Fair stores, is committed to keeping the Bartram’s employees and said he will work to get them positions at either the new store or one of Food Fair’s locations.

It is refreshing to hear that an effort is being made so that no one falls through the cracks as changes are made.

While there is no timetable yet on the changes, it will eventually lead to the vacancy of the Bartram’s building.

We hope that civic leaders and the business community will begin thinking early on the property, so that, instead of an empty box in the southern part of town, it can be repurposed and be put to good use.

With good planning, these changes can lead to positive changes for the city and Forth’s plans for expanded services store at Ironton Hills Plaza sound very promising.