At least 50 white crosses once marked a half-mile strip of U.S. 64 west of Kirtland, where My Place Bar and the Zia Bar once served drunken walk-in clients before shutting down some years ago, the Farmington Daily Times reported.

Both bars, located across the highway from each other about seven miles from the Navajo Nation where alcohol is banned, racked up citations for serving intoxicated people and contributed to public nuisances, and dozens of patrons were killed in traffic accidents and bar fights, the Daily Times reported.

The grim crosses that stood along the highway for years are gone, removed by landowners who may have wanted to erase the memory of so many deaths, San Juan County Commissioner Ervin Chavez told the Daily Times.

My Place Bar closed in 1998 after reaching a settlement with the New Mexico Alcohol and Gaming Division, selling its license to Mustang Convenience Stores, which operates on the same site, selling only package liquor, the paper said.

The Zia Bar closed three years ago for reasons unrelated to state or police citations, and stood vacant until Oct. 2 when 27-year-old Farmington businessman Adam Derizotis reopened the old site as a small convenience/grocery store called the Zia Minimart, according to the Daily Times.

"This bar has a really horrible history," said Derizotis, who grew up in Gallup. "I specifically wanted to take this room and turn it around, to take the most negative building in the county and turn it into something positive. This building has been abandoned for a while, and I wanted to give people a reason to look over here again."

Derizotis said he will only sell packaged liquor and will focus on stocking the convenience store with basic grocery items, a soda fountain and frozen foods, the Daily Times reported.

He also told the paper he won't sell alcohol to intoxicated customers or to those who walk in on foot. 

"I plan on running a really tight ship," Derizotis told the Daily Times. "I think it's morally irresponsible to sell to someone who's going to walk along the highway."

Derizotis is stocking the store with items with particular appeal to Navajo customers, including Bluebird brand flour and mutton products, the paper said.

"Whether or not I want it to be, I know liquor is going to be a big part of my business," Derizotis told the Daily Times. "Hopefully, the liquor will help carry the convenience store side until that takes off."