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BZ Quick Mart License Revoked, Will Close At The End Of The Week

By Howard Ludwig | September 15, 2016 2:59pm
 BZ Quick Mart in Mount Greenwood had its licensed revoked by city regulators Monday. A clerk at the gas station and convenience store at 10301 S. Kedzie Ave. said the business will close at the end of the week.
BZ Quick Mart in Mount Greenwood had its licensed revoked by city regulators Monday. A clerk at the gas station and convenience store at 10301 S. Kedzie Ave. said the business will close at the end of the week.
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DNAinfo/Howard A. Ludwig

MOUNT GREENWOOD — BZ Quick Mart's business license has been revoked and the gas station and convenience store will close at the end of the week.

A clerk at the mart, 10301 S. Kedzie Ave., said Thursday that all remaining items are being sold ahead of the closure. He had no further information.

Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) sent an email to constituents Wednesday afternoon saying BZ Quick Mart's license had been revoked and that the business could only operate through Sept. 30 per an agreement with the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.

"Under the agreement, the licensee is not permitted to appeal this revocation at any time in the future," O'Shea said via email.

A copy of the license ruling points to an inspection Jan. 21 in which operators of BZ Quick Mart refused to open the store's safe for city regulators — a violation commonly associated with the sale of illegal cigarettes.

BZ Quick Mart was also cited for selling out-dated merchandise in the same ruling. The store voluntarily surrendered its license after three tobacco-related violations within two years, the ruling states.

Owners of the store agreed in January to close for three weeks and pay a $7,500 fine for similar violations. At the time, O'Shea said stores selling unstamped cigarettes cost the city hundreds of thousands in tax dollars.

Some customers use a code word to tip off the vendor that they are interested in buying the untaxed cigarettes, O'Shea said. Others unknowingly buy the illegal products.

According to a previous DNAinfo report, BZ Quick Mart was issued violations on four separate occasions in 2015 — all of which included failure to open the store's safe within 30 minutes. O'Shea suspected store owners kept unstamped cigarettes in the safe and opted not to open it rather than get caught red-handed.

"I'd like to thank the Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection and Chicago Police Department for their efforts in this matter," O'Shea's email said.

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