Fall River Board of Health orders 30-day suspension for Stop and Save after sale to minor

The Fall River City Board of Health voted Jan. 28 to impose a 30-day suspension on Stop and Save convenience store at 101 Preston Ave. after a compliance recheck found a clerk had sold a tobacco product to a minor.

Jennifer, the department compliance officer, told the board that "at approximately 10:46AM, I sent a female youth buyer into the store to purchase a tobacco product. She was able to purchase a single back with cigar for a dollar 50 using a $20 bill." That sale was the third violation in 36 months under 105 CMR 665, Jennifer said, and triggered a cease-and-desist and a $5,000 fine due Jan. 30.

Attorney Joe Finglas, representing "Mr. Khan from Stop and Save Convenience," said his client did not dispute the facts but asked the board to modify discipline because the store had not had violations for 25 years and the incidents involved recently hired employees. Finglas said the business has been financially strained by nearby construction and asked the board to waive the suspension: "We don't dispute the facts," he said, and asked the board to consider a reduced penalty.

Board members reviewed past practice and the store’s prior history, including a $1,000 fine issued Oct. 3, 2024 for flavored tobacco and a $2,000 fine issued Sept. 4, 2025 for selling to a minor. An unidentified board member recalled that the board had previously modified discipline after a second violation but warned that a third hearing would not be modified. Chair Thomas Corey said the board has used suspensions as an educational tool and that "the 30 day suspension, will stand." A motion to impose the 30-day suspension was moved, seconded and approved on a roll-call vote with Thomas Corey and Michael Coughlin recorded as voting yes.

Jennifer said she could execute the suspension starting Friday morning, Jan. 30; the board discussed the suspension running into early March and referenced March 2 as the concluding date. The board left the monetary fine unchanged.

Next steps: the department will follow up to implement the suspension and collect the administrative fine. The board’s action applies to the Stop and Save location listed in the hearing record and follows the department’s enforcement authority under 105 CMR 665.