The city building department, upon urging from the county health department, red-tagged Brothers Market on San Benito Street about two weeks ago, which means it cannot operate until its water and electricity is up and running, said city Code Enforcement Officer and Airport Manager Mike Chambless.
County Environmental Health Specialist Darryl Wong, meanwhile, said all indications point to a permanent closure for Brothers Market, at least under its current owner Armando Rodriguez, who took it over in the fall of 2006.
"It's basically gutted in a sense - everything's basically been left out," Wong said. "I don't foresee those guys coming back."
Health department officials became worried when the water and electricity had been shut off. A building official went to the location to respond and also noticed when he arrived that a cash-transfer location inside Brothers had been using an electrical generator in the store, which is disallowed.
"The building's not damaged," Chambless said. "It's just, we can't have them running generators inside the building."
The shop is almost 70 years old and has changed hands multiple times since it opened in 1933. The original shop opened as the "Public Drive In Market." Brothers Tony and Frank Borelli got the idea for a drive-in shop after a trip to Italy where they saw a similar store.
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