Warren Board of Health Approves Village Market Tobacco Permit After DOR Dispute

Board of Health · Meeting of February 24, 2026

Warren Board of Health approves disputed tobacco permit for West Warren convenience store. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to issue a tobacco retail permit to Village Market at 2240 Main Street, West Warren, through June 30, 2026, after months of dispute over a state license the Massachusetts Department of Revenue said was never applied for and could not be verified. Regional Health Inspector Tessa Obuchowski reported that DOR Tax Examiner Anna Alvarado-Baptista confirmed no application or permit existed for the October 2024 through September 2025 period; the store's accountant, Frank Anzalata, who handled licensing, died before the matter was resolved.

The board required that all future permits be confirmed in the DOR database before issuance, and store owner Gina Stewart's attorney, Charles B. Ryan of Springfield, said Stewart would submit the completed application and $75 fee the following morning and would not resume tobacco sales until the permit was in hand. The board also unanimously adopted a home and green burial application and set a $100 application fee, pending a town bylaw, and agreed to participate in early discussions with UMass Memorial Health on a rural health initiative drawing from Massachusetts' $162 million share of a $50 billion federal rural transformation fund.

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Source: the Board of Health meeting of February 24, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.