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Council imposes $500 penalty on White Bears Liquor after failed underage tobacco compliance check
Summary
St. Paul’s Department of Safety and Inspections requested adverse action after a clerk sold cigarettes to an underage buyer; the licensee admitted the facts and asked council for leniency, but council adopted a first-time matrix penalty of $500.
The St. Paul City Council approved a $500 penalty against the tobacco and off-sale liquor license held by 7 White Bears Liquor LLC (doing business as White Bears Liquor) for failing a state-mandated underage tobacco compliance check.
Teresa Scarda, representing the Department of Safety and Inspections, told the council an 18-year-old underage purchaser was able to buy a pack of Marlboro Lights at the premises during an April 22 compliance check. Scarda said the clerk did not request identification or ask the buyer’s age; the state requires annual compliance checks.
The licensee, Isaac (surname not provided in the transcript), acknowledged the failed check and asked the council to waive the $500 penalty on grounds of long-term operation and prior compliance history. He told the council he has run similar businesses for about 21 years and described efforts to maintain the store.
Council members said they take tobacco compliance seriously because of public-health harms to youth. Council Member Yang moved to accept staff’s recommendation to impose the first-time matrix penalty; the council adopted the recommendation by a recorded voice vote of six in favor, none opposed.
DSI’s notice and the city attorney’s follow-up letter were referenced in the staff report. The licensee had admitted the facts and chosen to address penalty before council; the penalty was applied as the council’s formal action at the meeting.
