[ad_1]
After numerous delays, the owner of a controversial halal slaughterhouse says it will finally open by July.
Abdul Mused, the owner of Saba Live Poultry at 3225 Colvin Street, says he was stopped while waiting for equipment to be delivered to the new slaughterhouse.
“Because of the pandemic and the backlog of orders, it took a while to get all of the equipment,” Mused told ALXnow. “We only need a couple of machines and we’re good to go.”
The only visible change to the building is that the hours have been posted on the windshield. The main interior is still largely empty, and a back room is filled with cages and other equipment as it looked months ago. Mused told ALXnow that the store would open last November, and then it was postponed to mid-April.
“We’re going to have a soft opening and eventually a big opening,” Mused said.
Mused owns 18 Saba Live Poultry locations across the country and reportedly spent $ 600,000 on renovating the building. He also said he has opened two new locations in Texas and New York since Alexandria City Council approved the store in March 2019. The slaughterhouse is in an industrial area on Duke Street and is close to a number of pet shops including the Wholistic Hound Dog Academy, Frolick Dogs, Dogtopia, Pinnacle Pet Spa & More, and the Wild Bird Center of Alexandria.
As previously reported, the owners of these stores and their neighbors flooded the city council with letters in 2019, and Lisa Kemler, a judge at the Alexandria District Court, dismissed two cases filed by 10 local citizens and business owners against the city and city council were charged to get their 5: 2 approval.
When it finally opens, the slaughterhouse will source 500 closed-box chickens from an Amish community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Customers can choose a chicken in a steel cage with a number on the leg. The customer receives a ticket with the number when the chicken is moved to another room and slaughtered according to Islamic law.
[ad_2]
