Vacant Backyard Burgers building in Jackson becoming an eyesore

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Businesses in the capital city are concerned and want to know why some Backyard Burgers properties in other cities are being maintained and why the one in Jackson is not.

Since the chain of restaurants closed its doors back in March, there has not been any maintenance around the building to keep it up.

“You know we would expect that the properties are maintained here in Jackson the same way they are maintained in other counties and other cities,” Dr. Andrew Clark said.

Dr. Clark, the owner of Northtown Pharmacy, is frustrated and at his wit’s end with the conditions of the property at Backyard Burgers.

“A property that vacant like Back Yard Burger is, you start dealing with unwanted activity such as overnight parking, loitering in the parking lot, a lot of activity goes on around the building because they know,” he said.

Since Clark’s pharmacy sits next to the blighted property, he has tried to address the eyesore himself.

“We cannot continue to maintain a property that’s not ours and so it’s very important that the owners maintain their property,” he said.

WLBT drove around other cities like Flowood and Madison and saw that those Backyard Burgers properties were kept up to par.

“We have a maintenance code we enforce, sometimes people are not happy with it, but I’m sorry,” Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler said.

Mayor Hawkins-Butler says many of the vacant Backyard Burgers buildings are owned by LLCs and were leased out by the franchise.

“We’ll send letters to property owners if the property is out of compliance and in bad condition and overgrown. We are familiar with the owners of Backyard Burgers locations and they are working with us to keep it in good condition,” she said.

We reached out to the city of Jackson about this issue but have yet to hear back.

Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.

Copyright 2023 WLBT. All rights reserved.