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Little Italy Smoke Shop Temporarily Shut Down By City, Owner Says

By Stephanie Lulay | March 24, 2015 4:27pm | Updated on March 25, 2015 9:48am
 Sight N' Sound's first location in Chicago opened this month at 1137 W. Taylor St. in Little Italy.
Sight N' Sound's first location in Chicago opened this month at 1137 W. Taylor St. in Little Italy.
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DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay

LITTLE ITALY — A new smoke shop that opened this month in Little Italy was temporarily shut down by the city this week, owners said.

Citing a permit issue, city officials unexpectedly closed Sight N' Sound, a new smoke shop at 1137 W. Taylor St., at 11 a.m. on Monday, according to co-owner Kasey Salamie. Officials told shop owners the closing was caused by an issue with the shop's tobacco license, Salamie said.

The shop was issued a cease and desist notice and a violation related to the sale of tobacco products without a license, said Mika Stambaugh, spokeswoman or the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.

By 3 p.m. Monday, city officials cleared owners to reopen the shop. The owner completed all outstanding issues for the permit and was subsequently issued a tobacco license, officials said.

"Part of licensing process is to ensure license applicant(s) are compliant with licensing requirements so that we can ensure safety for residents and maintain quality of life in our neighborhoods," Stambaugh wrote in an e-mail.

Owners of Sight N' Sound, a longtime smoke shop in suburban Westmont, opened their second location this month on Taylor Street. The shop is their first in Chicago. 

While medical marijuana was recently made legal in Illinois, Salamie said his shop sells devices only intended for use with legal tobacco products.

High-priced, designer glass pipes that start at $1,000 are a big sell at a new smoke shop, Salamie said last week.

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