A popular chain sandwich shop aiming to open its first Cleveland Park location has run into a legal roadblock raised by the District government and backed by the community.

Cosi, which operates 13 stores in D.C., wants to sell its brand of sandwich out of the former Blockbuster Video at 3519 Connecticut Ave., a storefront in a busy strip shopping center. But D.C. Zoning Administrator Bill Crews ruled earlier this year that Cosi’s plan to proliferate requires a special exemption because of its location in a “neighborhood commercial overlay district.”