BATON ROUGE, LA – In a ruling that officials described as “technically decisive,” a judge has ordered the owner of AM Mart Highland to leave the property, while clarifying that the criminal activity responsible for the ruling is free to continue uninterrupted.
While the storefront itself will no longer operate, officials confirmed the surrounding concrete remains exactly where it has always been, available around the clock and expected to continue serving as a familiar gathering space for people who were never there to buy anything in the first place. The ruling does not restrict access to the lot, the sidewalks, or the general atmosphere that made the location notable long before the owner was removed.
Residents say the decision feels less like a closure and more like a cosmetic edit. Several noted that the parking lot had already been functioning independently of the store, often hosting activity that appeared entirely self-sustaining and largely unrelated to retail commerce.
The property sits across from a police station, a detail that once suggested safety but now mostly serves as a reliable landmark for locating where things keep happening. Neighbors expressed skepticism that banning the owner would discourage behavior driven by people who never interacted with management to begin with.
City officials reiterated that while the store is gone, the location itself remains very much open for business in every other sense.
Authorities confirmed they will continue monitoring the area from across the street, where they have historically had an excellent view of absolutely everything.
