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Directing the Department of Safety and Inspections to revoke the Tobacco Shop license held by Maryland Supermarket INC d/b/a Maryland Supermarket (License ID #20160002943) for the premises located at 444 Maryland Ave W Ste C.
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WHEREAS, the Tobacco Shop license (License ID #20160002943) (“License”) is held by Maryland Supermarket INC d/b/a Maryland Supermarket (“Licensee”) for the premises located at 444 Maryland Ave W Ste C in Saint Paul (“Licensed Premises”); and
WHEREAS, the Licensee was notified in a letter from the City Attorney’s Office dated May 19, 2026, titled Notice of Violation and Request for Imposition of 10-Day License Suspension (“Notice”) (Exhibit 1), that the Department of Safety and Inspections (“Department”) recommended a 10-day license suspension for the sale of flavored tobacco products, a violation of this license type; and
WHEREAS, the Notice explained that on March 2, 2026, Department Inspector Joseph Voyda conducted an inspection at the Licensed Premises and discovered multiple flavored tobacco items for sale, which are detailed in the Notice and is a violation of this license type; and
WHEREAS, the Notice detailed explained that, on multiple occasions, the Department has informed the Licensee that sale of flavored tobacco products is not permitted by this license type and included communications from June 12, 2024, January 22, 2025, and January 12, 2026; and
WHEREAS, on June 12, 2024, the Department notified the Licensee that it was no longer allowed to sell “ZYN - Chill & Mint” products as they were not approved by the FDA and are not a cessation product; and
WHEREAS, on January 22, 2025, the City Council passed RES 25-94, adopting a settlement agreement between the Department and the Licensee, one term of which was that the previous Tobacco Product Shop license held by the Licensee, which had allowed the Licensee to sell flavored tobacco products, was revoked effective April 30, 2025; and
WHEREAS, on January 12, 2026, the Department notified the Licensee that it was conducting the routine annual inspections of businesses selling tobacco products and reminded the Licensee that it could not sell flavored tobacco products, which includes menthol and wintergreen tobacco flavors; and
WHEREAS, during the inspection on March 2, 2026, Inspector Voyda found nine (9) different types of flavored tobacco products for sale, totaling more than fifty (50) flavored tobacco items for sale, and six (6) of those items were the prohibited “ZYN - Chill & Mint” item; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has authority to take adverse action against a Licensee under Saint Paul Legislative Code § 310.03, and that adverse action includes the suspension of a license pursuant to Saint Paul Legislative Code § 310.01; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Legislative Code § 310.03(m)(3)(2) identifies the presumptive penalty for this violation as a 10-day license suspension; and
WHEREAS, the Department recommends the imposition of the presumptive 10-day license suspension; and
WHEREAS, the Notice explained the Licensee’s options to respond to this proposed penalty, including contesting the facts before an administrative law judge, contesting the penalty before the City Council, or admitting to the facts and agreeing to the penalty; and
WHEREAS, on May 28, 2026, the Licensee, via his attorney Benjamin P. Loetscher, contacted the City Attorney’s Office to admit to the violation, accept the penalty, and waive its right to appear before City Council (Exhibit #2); and
WHEREAS, the Notice stated that if the Licensee accepted the violation, the matter would be placed on the City Council consent agenda to impose the recommended penalty of a 10-day license suspension;
WHEREAS, pursuant to section 310.03(m) of the legislative code, the City Council has authority to deviate from the presumptive matrix penalty upon a determination that there exist substantial and compelling reasons making it more appropriate to do so; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the Licensee knew that it could not sell flavored tobacco products because it entered into a settlement agreement with the Department in 2025 and one term of the settlement agreement was the revocation of the tobacco products shop license that allowed the Licensee to sell flavored tobacco products. Furthermore, the Licensee was reminded of this prohibition in a letter on January 12, 2026, a letter that also notified the Licensee that the Department would be conducting its annual inspection of the Licensed Premises for these or any other violations, and yet the Licensee continued to sell flavored tobacco products; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the Licensee also knew that it was prohibited from selling "ZYN Chill & Mint” products because of the notice sent on June 12, 2024, but continued to sell this product and the Department found six (6) of these products during its inspection; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the Licensee knew that sale of flavored tobacco products was prohibited and yet it continued to sell these products, demonstrated by placing them on the shelves alongside other products for sale, and therefore, this City Council determines that the conduct was not inadvertent, minor, or a mistake, but an intentional disregard for or refusal to follow the laws of the City; and
WHEREAS, the City Council determines that these findings provide a substantial and compelling reason to depart from the presumptive penalty of a 10-day license suspension; and
WHEREAS, the next-highest penalty from a 10-day license suspension is the revocation of the license; and
WHEREAS, although revocation is a harsh penalty, the City Council determines that the penalty is appropriate given the seriousness of the violation of selling flavored tobacco products without a license (such that there were over 50 items found at the Licensed Premises), the evidence that the Licensee had knowledge that its conduct was prohibited, and the finding that the Licensee intentionally disregarded or refused to follow the law; and now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Tobacco Shop license (License ID #20160002943) held by Maryland Supermarket INC d/b/a Maryland Supermarket for the premises located at 444 Maryland Ave W Ste C, Saint Paul, MN 55117, is hereby revoked for violation of Saint Paul Legislative Code § 324.07(j), and for the substantial and compelling reasons explained in this resolution, as authorized by Saint Paul Legislative Code § 310.03.