Binghamton Plaza Pet Shop Closes Its Doors

Another store that had been a longtime fixture in the Binghamton Plaza has shut down.

Melissa Winslow, the owner of MelRose Pet Palace, said she closed the shop on Binghamton's North Side last Friday.

Winslow said she decided to move the business to another store she operates in Susquehanna County.

Winslow expressed unhappiness that work that needed to be done at her location in the Binghamton Plaza wasn't getting done. She also was frustrated by the uncertain future of the property as the city of Binghamton pursues its eminent domain case to take control of the site.

Winslow had been operating the pet shop in Binghamton for the past year. She took over the store that had been known as Livingston's Animal Kingdom. That shop opened in the plaza about three decades ago.

Winslow now is encouraging people who were customers at the Binghamton Plaza store to visit her shop on Route 11 in Hallstead.

The Rent-A-Center store that had been located next door to MelRose Pet Palace closed in late April. That business moved to a shopping plaza on Upper Front Street in the town of Chenango.

John Tokos, the Binghamton Plaza property manager, said business operators are concerned because of the ongoing court case involving the city.

The city last year won a court decision in the eminent domain battle. It hasn't been determined how much the New Jersey-based plaza owners will be paid for the West State Street property.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.