Boston C-Stores Shuttered

BOSTON -- A hearing officer yesterday took the unusual step of ordering two suburban Boston convenience stores to remain closed after city inspectors caught both selling tobacco to a minor last week and advertising 24-hour-a-day operations when they're only licensed to stay open until 11 p.m.

The Sunoco-Express Gas Mini Mart in Dorchester, and Blue Hill Citgo in Roxbury, will remain closed until further notice, said Lisa Timberlake, a spokeswoman for the Boston Inspectional Services Department. The stations were also cited for improper chemical storage, rodent infestation and general filth. In addition, inspectors found a handgun at Blue Hill Citgo, according to the Boston Herald.

Assistant Inspectional Services Commissioner Dion Irish said inspectors at the Sunoco station found butane and motor oil stored near food products, dirty floors, and a shelf blocking one of the exits.

Irish said both stations advertised being open 24 hours, though they are licensed to stay open only until 11 p.m. Many products at the stores lacked price tags, violating the state's item pricing law, the report said.

Ourania Papoulidis, who owns the Sunoco station, said she already has cleaned up her business and addressed the violations. Representatives from Drake Petroleum, which owns Blue Hill Citgo, said they received no notice of the hearing and have been scrambling to bring the station to code.

"We've had no chance to prepare for this," Jeffrey Walker, an official with Drake Petroleum, told The Boston Globe. "We'll take the violations and review them."
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