LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Concerns over drugs, prostitution, even murder, could lead to the closure of a busy West Broadway gas station.
City officials said those and other problems at Dino's Food Mart, at 26th and Broadway, have prompted them to push for the business to be shut down.
"The Louisville Metro Police Department, Codes and Regulations, City ABC and Metro Council have been working together to try and get Dino's shut down," said Louisville Metro Council President David James, D-6.
After years of criminal activity in the parking lot, it's time for Dino's to go, he said.
"From murder, to selling of spice, to selling of crack kits, to prostitution, you name it, it has happened on this parking lot," James said.
The business has been cited multiple times. On Friday, owners appeared before Codes and Regulations to dispute a public nuisance notice.
James said, "The notice was upheld, which means it was verified. They had been a public nuisance again."
According to MetroSafe, since this time last year, police have responded to the business 500 times.
Metro Police Officer Christina Beaven said that number excludes the times police have responded to 26th and Broadway.
Beaven said city officials are getting support from the neighborhood.
"Neighbors complain about the problems all the time," she said.
However, Marvin McAtee, a nearby business owner, said he's not sure that closing Dino's is the answer.
McAtee owns Yaya's Barbecue, at 26th and Broadway. He started the business with his uncle, David McAtee, who was killed in June by the Kentucky National Guard.
"I've been here for a long time," McAtee said. "The name just changes, the area won't change, the people won't change."
We reached out to Dino's but the owner did not want to comment. Meanwhile, if the business receives another notice, city officials say there will be an order to vacate.
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