‘Nuisance’ convenience store where 3 teens were shot on Houston Avenue can reopen — for now

A Bibb County judge on Friday cleared the way for a Houston Avenue convenience store to reopen, at least temporarily, after its ordered closure a month ago in the wake of recent violent episodes in and around the food mart.

The Friends Food Mart at 3350 Houston Ave., just across from the Pendleton Homes public housing complex, was shut down June 7 after county officials deemed it a public nuisance and declared it a hub for criminal activity. The closing came on the heels of a shooting in which two 19-year-old men pulled guns and killed each other.

Another teen was shot to death outside the store in early May.

As the county’s case against the store proceeds, Senior Judge Bryant Culpepper, in Friday’s order, said the store’s owners were “entitled to an opportunity to fix the problems before this courts shuts down their operation completely.”

The order said the store’s operators must post “no loitering” signs and take “proactive steps” to prevent gatherings outside. The store, which had been open around the clock, must now limit its hours from 6 a.m. through 11 p.m.