To the Editor:

Because of an article in last week's paper about the BoomTown Feasibility Study, we have been contacted by a number of people who are alarmed that we are going to sell our building and close The Madison Gift Mart & Cafe.  I hope this letter will clear things up.  While the article is factually correct, it needs careful reading.
First, we were invited by the city to attend this briefing as were the other property owners.  The properties involved are: The McDowell Grocery, Gilbert's Hardware, the parking lot, NBC Realty (the BoomTown Block), and our building (The Madison Gift Mart & Cafe).  Three of the five property owners showed up to hear what the study folks had to say. The old McDowell Grocery building is the building that was referred to in the article as being cost prohibitive for private owners to rehabilitate, and not ours.
Second, it seemed to me that this study was to highlight possibilities for alternative uses of the properties.  The Madison Gift Mart & Cafe used to be a hotel, among other things at various times in its history, and so the building lent itself to consideration for upstairs living and downstairs business.  
Third, we are very much open for business!  Our hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. until 3:30 or 4 p.m.  Come visit and have some lunch!

Rolly and Sheri Clark
The Madison Gift Mart & Cafe, Madison
Via e-mail

Editor's Note: In the article titled "City feasibility studied by state," found on Page 9A of the Nov. 15, 2012 of the Morgan County Citizen, discussion of potential future uses for the structure that houses The Madison Gift Mart & Cafe, as well as the stable that houses Madison Hardware and the former NBC Realty building, were part of the BoomTown study. These were merely suggestions for future uses of the structures that house or housed these businesses and have nothing to do with the current statuses of these businesses. We hope that this clarifies the story.

Printed in the November 22, 2012 edition