Board presses tobacco store owner on stalled permit

Board of Health · Meeting of September 2, 2026

LOWELL — The Lowell Board of Health pushed the owner of a Merrimack Street convenience store to finish her long-delayed tobacco permit. Tobacco Control Program Director Cesar Pungirum told the board his office ran 42 compliance checks in August, finding one violation, at a 7-Eleven on Mammoth Road, that nonetheless resets to a $1,000 "first offense" fine under the city's repeat-offender rules. The bulk of the meeting centered on Lowell Quick Stop Corp at 189 East Merrimack St., where owner Abena Alwedyan said she has been trying to complete her permits since April; Senior Sanitary Code Inspector Matthew Sheehan said the store "should have been shut down the day I was there" for lacking a signed lease and pest control plan.

Alwedyan told the board, "I'm being harassed with this." The board directed her to deliver hard copies of both documents immediately and warned any future tobacco violation "would not be tolerated." Director Lisa Golden also reported Lowell's first positive mosquito pool of the season and nearly $400,000 in opioid settlement funding now supporting PrideStar's buprenorphine program.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,505 words

Source: the Board of Health meeting of September 2, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.