Popular Binghamton Mexican Eatery May Become Marijuana Store

A cannabis retail business could soon set up shop at the site of a beloved Mexican restaurant in Binghamton.

State regulators have approved a license for the marijuana store despite concerns expressed by city officials.

The license would allow an out-of-town entity to operate the cannabis shop where Hacienda Mexican Restaurant has been located since June 2018.

The eatery is located at 1171 Vestal Avenue on the city's South Side. Its manager said she knew nothing about plans for the marijuana store and the co-owners of the business also were unaware of what was happening.

Mayor Jared Kraham told WNBF News he doesn't want existing local businesses to be displaced by new cannabis operations.

The mayor said he believes marijuana businesses should be located in areas that need an economic boost. He said "they should be filling vacant storefronts."

Kraham said in the case of the Vestal Avenue site, "this would be basically booting out an existing business" - in this case, "a great locally-owned restaurant."

The mayor said "don't remove a business to put in a cannabis retailer when the city has a variety of vacant storefronts" that could be used for that purpose.

With the state's approval of the license application, Hacienda Mexican Restaurant could be forced to close within the next few months.

The restaurant doesn't have a lease at the Vestal Avenue location and has been paying rent on a month-to-month basis.

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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.