Title
Approving adverse action against the Tobacco Shop license (License ID #20100004254) held by Northern Tier Retail LLC d/b/a Speedway #4420 for the premises located at 1125 7th St. W. (Licensee will speak to Council on her own behalf).
Body
WHEREAS, Northern Tier Retail LLC d/b/a Speedway #4420 (“Licensee”) was notified in a letter from the City Attorney’s Office dated August 18, 2026, titled Notice of Violation and Request for Imposition of $1,000.00 Matrix Penalty -- Second Underage Buyer Failure (“Notice”) (Exhibit #1), that the Department of Safety and Inspections (“Department”) recommended a $1,000.00 matrix penalty for the sale of a tobacco product to an underage buyer; and
WHEREAS, The Notice detailed that on June 16, 2026, at 12:29 p.m., Department Inspector LaTiffany Porter conducted a tobacco underage buyer compliance check at 1125 7th St. W. (“Licensed Premises”). As part of the check, a nineteen-year-old female, who had been retained by the Department to perform an underage compliance check, entered the Licensed Premises to purchase a tobacco product. The clerk requested her identification, which the underage buyer provided, and the identification provided her age as 19. Nevertheless, the clerk sold the underage buyer a pack of Camel Blue, a tobacco product; and
WHEREAS, On June 17, 2026, the Department sent a letter to the Licensee. The letter stated that the Department had conducted a state-mandated, annual inspection and that a person under the age of 21, hired by the Department to conduct the check, purchased a tobacco product from the Licensee at the Licensed Premises; and
WHEREAS, This is a second underage buyer failure within twenty-four (24) months because on or around May 14, 2025, the Department conducted a tobacco underage buyer compliance check at the Licensed Premises, and a tobacco product was sold to an underage buyer. The Department recommended the imposition of the $500.00 matrix penalty for that violation, which the Licensee paid on or around October 7, 2025 (Exhibit #2); and
WHEREAS, The Notice laid out the basis for adverse action and the law upon which the Department relied; and
WHEREAS, Because the Licensee failed the check within two years of the previous failure, the Department recommended a $1,000.00 matrix penalty; and
WHEREAS, On August 28, 2026, the Licensee emailed the City Attorney’s Office and admitted to the facts as alleged in the Notice but requested a hearing before the City Council (Exhibit #3); and
WHEREAS, In accordance with the Licensee’s request, the City Attorney’s Office placed this matter on the September 23, 2026, City Council agenda; and
WHEREAS, On September 23, 2026, the Licensee appeared and addressed the City Council; now therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Tobacco Shop license (License ID #20100004254) held by Northern Tier Retail LLC d/b/a Speedway #4420 for the premises located at 1125 7th St. W., Saint Paul, MN 55102, is hereby to ordered to pay the $1,000.00 matrix penalty for violation of Saint Paul Legislative Code §§ 310.14 and 324.07(i) and Minnesota Statutes §§ 461.12, subd. 5, and 461.22, subd. 2.