A decade ago, Rucker was a virtually unknown figure in the Central Mass. business space. Since 2015, with his announcement he would bring minor league hockey back to Worcester in the form of the Worcester Railers, he’s become one of the region’s most important players, with high-profile contributions to the local economy.
Rucker Investment’s real estate portfolio, which includes prominent buildings like the Worcester Palladium and the Central Exchange Building at 311 Main St., continues to grow. But the biggest recent development is his launch of Auxilium, an entrepreneurial hub seeking to kick the region’s startup scene into overdrive. This includes a partnership with Quinsigamond Community College to launch an on-campus startup center, aiming to build skills and create opportunities for the school’s largely working-class students.
Beyond the Railers and Auxilum, Rucker is the owner of Off The Rails restaurant and the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Arena, with the latter being a key cog in the region’s large youth hockey environment.
His involvement in the worlds of sports and startups tend to grab the most headlines, but Rucker Investments has quietly built an impressive and diverse portfolio of a few dozen assets, ranging from a Buffalo Wild Wings location in Alabama to an Advanced Auto Parts shop in Maine.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
