With the holiday season approaching, Union Station Mall merchant Chakayah Omwaso normally would be unpacking merchandise. Instead, she spent Tuesday night boxing up her kiosk while the mall still had power.
On Wednesday, the mall was dark.
Georgia Power cut the juice Tuesday night after the mall's owner, Lee Najjar -- better known as Kim Zolciak's benefactor "Big Poppa" on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" -- failed to make good on a tardy light bill.
"He doesn't care about anyone's livelihood but his own," Omwaso, who owns Anu Gift Shop, told the AJC. She's operated a kiosk at the mall for 11 years.
Many arrived at the mall on Wednesday only to find most stores and the Department of Driver Services office were closed, Channel 2 Action News reported. Sears and Macy's were open because they have their own meters, a Georgia Power spokesperson told Channel 2.
"We have no idea what's going to happen," said James Song, manager of Focus Boutique.
But he's worried that the boutique, a Union Station tenant for six years, will have to close down.
"It's very frustrating," Song told the AJC.
Najjar has dealt with money woes for much of the year, public records confirm. His Forsyth County residence was placed into foreclosure last month, though it's unknown whether the house was auctioned off. Najjar also owes more than a quarter of a million dollars in back taxes to Union City.
Merchants were told that Union City police will be patrolling the mall, but Omwaso said she wasn't going to take any chances.
"We've been told a lot of things," she said, adding that she's lost faith in the city and the mall management.
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