This crazy lady who inherited this small strip mall in one of the nicer neighborhoods in Austin is old news us, but it finally made national press:

Landlord Loves All Creatures Great and Small

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

AUSTIN — When bridal shop owner Nancy Owen found ants in her store, she had two choices: relocate the critters or relocate her shop. Extermination was not an option.

That's because the landlord of the Austin shopping center where her store was located is a supporter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The landlord imposed strict rules on tenants requiring that no meat or animal product be sold in their stores, and that no animals – including ants – be harmed.

"If you don't have to cause animals to suffer – even the animals we don't understand so well like ants or mice or chickens – why not choose to be kind rather than to be cruel?” asked PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich.

But the shoe shop has to keep leather laces hidden behind the counter, the liquor store can’t sell beef jerky and all of this adds up to what some call militant behavior by the landlord. Owen decided she'd rather spend $10,000 in moving expenses to relocate rather than abide by those rules.