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Remanding the matter of the cigarette/tobacco license held by Zakariya Abukhudeer, d/b/a The One Stop Market LLC, for the premises located at 1541 Maryland Avenue back to the Administrative Law Judge so that an evidentiary hearing may be held on the allegations on which the Administrative Law Judge denied summary disposition.
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WHEREAS, Zakariya Abukhudeer, d/b/a The One Stop Market, LLC (“Licensee”), holds a cigarette/tobacco license under License ID #20190001624 (“License”) for the premises located at 1541 Maryland Avenue East in Saint Paul (“Licensed Premises”); and
WHEREAS, on September 10, 2020, the Department of Safety and Inspections (“Department”), sent a notice of violation (“Notice”) to the Licensee, in which the Department alleged that the License committed the following violations:
1. Selling single cigarettes and flavored tobacco products;
2. Allowing patrons to smoke cigarettes inside of the Licensed Premises;
3. Failing to properly maintain his surveillance equipment and failing to provide a copy of the surveillance video footage as requested by the Department; and
4. Permitting dangerous behavior and loitering on or near the Licensed Premises.
WHEREAS, the Notice stated that the Department was taking adverse action against the License based on the aforementioned allegations and indicated that it would seek a double upward departure from the presumptive penalty of a $500.00 fine to a $2,000.00 fine and a 10-day suspension of the License; and
WHEREAS, on March 21, 2021, an amended Notice was sent to the Licensee stating that the Department intended to seek a greater-than-double upward departure from the presumptive penalty to revocation of the License based on evidence of additional incidents of sales of single cigarettes and flavored tobacco products identified in the videos that had already been provided to the Department; and
WHEREAS,...
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