Binghamton Deli Ordered Closed by City Just After Opening

A business that set up shop at the former site of a Binghamton Subway restaurant was open for a short time before it was directed by a code enforcement officer to close.

A Johnson City man had worked for months to renovate the building at Conklin and Tompkins streets to get the place ready. The site had been vacant since the Subway shop closed suddenly about three years ago.

Zead Ghanem told WNBF News in late May the business would be called Stop 'N' Shop Deli. He said he believed it would fill a need in the South Side neighborhood, especially in the aftermath of the March closing of on Weis supermarket on Conklin Avenue.

Binghamton city councilman Michael Kosty on Tuesday said he had been pleased to see the recent opening of the new shop. He said he stopped in to check it out. He said "they did a great job with the renovations."

Kosty was surprised to learn that the city code enforcement office had ordered the place to shut down.

A bright orange notice posted on the store's front door warned that it was "unlawful for any person" to enter the building.

Ghanem could not be reached for comment on the matter but Deputy Mayor Megan Heiman said a certificate of occupancy "was never issued for the building" In an email, she wrote: "It failed a third-party electrical inspection, and the fire suppression system was not installed properly."

Heiman said city officials believe "electrical contractors are on site to get things corrected so the store can open."

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news  and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.