KENNESAW, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
A Kennesaw pawn shop, Cruchelow Jewelry and Loan, has shut down, after three months of fighting by neighbors.
Those neighbors said that in 2004 a Roswell man named Tino Venturi promised them if they would permit Kennesaw to change a piece of land in their neighborhood from residential to commercial, he wouldn't allow any shops, such as pawn shops.
Nearly eight years later, neighbors said that promise was broken, by both the city and landlord, by allowing Cruchelow Jewelry and Loan to set up shop. Neighbors like Bill Harris have been fighting since then.
"I think the city really believed that it was getting a jewelry store," Harris said. "It was like three and a half months of turmoil that we really didn't need."
After CBS Atlanta News did multiple stories, the store removed flashing "pawn" signs from its walls.
At a packed public meeting in March, Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews owned up to the city's mistake.
"We made a terrible, terrible oversight," Mathews said. "For that I apologize to the residents, I apologize to the business owner. They shouldn't be in that position."
As of Tuesday, Cruchelow Jewelry and Loan has removed most items from inside of its shop. There are no signs saying where, if anywhere, the business will move.
Copyright 2012 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
