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Blazin Gifts is now open in West Menlo Park despite concerns from San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller, but the owner says he does not want to cause trouble.
Blazin Gifts sells many products, including tobacco paraphernalia.
“I’d like to know why (the shop opening) is a problem. If I can go around the problem, just let me know how. But that’s really the question: why am I such a big problem to the community?” said Hussein Omar, the owner of Blazin Gifts.
In August 2024, Hussein’s brother Ahmed Omar attempted to open a tobacco store in the same location but it was blocked due to San Mateo County’s tobacco retailer ordinance, which prohibits the sale of tobacco within 1,000 feet of a “youth-populated area” or 500 feet of another tobacco retailer. The location is within 1,000 feet of three schools, 500 feet of a tobacco retailer and on the same lot as a dance studio, which qualifies as an area frequented by young people.
Several people posting on online community forums were concerned about the shop opening and criticized Ahmed Omar.
“My brother went through a lot trying to open up in this location. They made a Facebook post and it damn near exposed my brother. It was all bad about him,” Hussein Omar said. “It gave him a crisis, a mental breakdown. They posted all our information on Facebook: his (phone) number, his other businesses, his address. It was bad.
“Since my brother wasn’t able to open and I just turned 21 during May, I told myself ‘I’m gonna go about opening, but I’m gonna just follow each rule.’ Like, I’m gonna have what I can have in here. I don’t gotta have tobacco,” Hussein Omar said.
Hussein Omar opened Blazin Gifts on Friday, calling it a gift shop that sells a variety of products. The store currently sells clothing, snacks and drinks, CBD products for people and pets and supplements, among other products. Omar claims there are no tobacco or nicotine products for sale in the store so he is allowed to operate.
Omar does sell rolling papers for tobacco and cannabis, pipes, water pipes, hookah, empty vaporizers and empty vaporizer cartridges. He does not sell tobacco.
The county’s ordinance considers any “component, part, or accessory of (tobacco or nicotine products or electronic smoking devices) whether or not any of these contains tobacco or nicotine, whether natural or synthetic, including but not limited to filters, rolling papers, blunt or hemp wraps, hookahs, mouthpieces, and pipes” as a tobacco product, which requires a tobacco retailer license to sell.
He would also not be able to get a license due to the proximity of the business to a Chevron station that sells tobacco products and three schools and a dance studio.
Mueller says he originally championed restrictions on tobacco stores near areas where young people frequented to “protect children from the negative impacts of smoking.”
“The marketing of such paraphernalia glamorizes smoking,” Mueller said when asked why shops are prohibited from selling paraphernalia without tobacco.
“I can’t have children here. If I let children in here, that’ll shut me down. Literally, (selling to children) is the last thing I’m trying to do,” Omar said.
“The owner is disingenuous since there is an ordinance that he was informed of previously that specifically bans not only tobacco but everything associated with it, including the various paraphernalia associated with it or cannabis,” said local resident Janet Davis, an outspoken critic of the store.
Omar’s shop currently sells flavored rolling papers, which are illegal in the state of California as part of its ban on flavored nicotine products, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.
When asked about these potential violations of state and local laws, Omar said he was unaware but happy to comply.
“If (flavored rolling papers) are a problem, I’ll get them gone. But I went around to other shops in the area to know what was going on and I just went off that to pick products,” Omar said.
Omar also sells other products like male enhancement supplements, artificial urine and kratom, an unregulated herb that the Food and Drug Administration has advised consumers not to ingest. The store also sells concentrated 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, the active ingredient in Kratom. The FDA recently warned several 7-OH manufactures of potential legal action for selling their products since it is not approved by the FDA. Omar sells some of the products cited by the FDA.
“There are no FDA-approved drugs containing 7-OH, and it is illegal to market any drugs containing 7-OH. Consumers who use 7-OH products are exposing themselves to products that have not been proven safe or effective for any use,” the FDA said in a press release.
Omar’s shop sells Deja Vu Dream Bars and TRE House Magic Mushroom Chocolate Bars. While he claimed they both contained Kratom, both are advertised as containing psychotropic mushrooms. TRE House claims its products only contain legal mushrooms. No information appears to be publicly available about Deja Vu, however other retailers advertise it as containing psilocybin, which is illegal in California.
“Nobody came in here and told me anything about rules, nobody. This is just like me, fresh, trying to figure out what I gotta do to stay open,” Omar said regarding county rules.
That’s not to say he hasn’t talked with Mueller.
“Ray Mueller came here Friday. I wasn’t really even open. He was trying to tell me about tobacco, like, that we can’t have tobacco in here. I explained to him that I got papers from the county and I already knew the rule and I got no tobacco in here,” Omar said. “He came in pretty hot (angry). He was like, ‘You guys are not supposed to open up. You guys already tried…’ He basically just came here like he owns the spot. I was hot myself, me and him were going back and forth.”
“The owner has been informed of all the products that are out of compliance with the ordinance. If they can figure out a way to open the shop without those products, the county will have nothing to enforce. However, there will be no compromise with respect to enforcement of this ordinance,” Mueller said.
Mueller says no tobacco retailer permit has been issued to Omar.
“If (Ray) came in here and talked to me, trying to work something out, it would have been amazing. You know, I was mad at myself that I reacted that way because I want to be here. I really do. Coming back at him wasn’t the right way. I put a lot into this and I don’t want to be on bad terms with anyone,” Omar said.
“We have three different county departments working on the matter: the County Attorney’s Office, County Environmental Health Services, and the County Planning Department. I have requested all three departments enforce the law to its full extent, including the administration of fines and court orders,” Mueller said.
Omar could face fines of up to $500 for his first day open and $1,000 each day he is open. He could also be charged with misdemeanor public nuisance, which is punishable by up to six months in county jail.
Presuming he can stay open, Omar plans on adding products based on community usage and is exploring adding imported snacks, like potato chips not commonly sold in the U.S.
“People are coming in and really interested about what we offer. We’re the only business around here that’s open late, until 2 a.m.,” the shop’s manager said.
Omar did not get a permit to put up his “Blazin Gifts” sign. Previously, county records indicate that Ahmed Omar was also warned he needed a permit to put up his sign. The county says a notice of violation has been issued to both Hussien Omar and the property owner Atherton resident Mostafa Ronaghi. Ronaghi did not respond to requests for comment.
“The tiny business district is family oriented with many facilities specifically geared towards and catering to children. Local families value that ambience,” Davis said. “Someone who flouts all the rules, not just once but twice, and who proposes to sell items that are not healthy, and that do not provide a service to the community, is not welcome in West Menlo Park.”
If there were never plans to sell tobacco products, why did this business pay for and receive a state tobacco retail license for this address (separate from the county tobacco retail license) about a month ago? And why was visibility into the store, until day of opening, completely obscured via butcher paper on the entire front of the store, up to 7′ in height?
It stretches credulity to assume Mr. Omar is unaware that S.M.C. Code of Ordinances 4.98 forbids selling tobacco paraphernalia, not to mention CBD products without county license, which the business lacks and cannot get.
It stretches credulity to assume Mr. Omar is unaware that zoning requires a sign permit, which the business also lacks.
It stretches credulity to assume he’s unaware that calling it a “gift shop” when the money’s in CBD and tobacco-related products comes across as a dodge.
It seems as if young Mr. Hussein failed to do due diligence or, worse, deliberately intended to open in defiance of the neighborhood’s wishes.
By the way, it seems as if the Almanac’s reporter did a much more thorough, way less grovelly, job of covering this issue. Adriana of the Palo Alto Daily Post didn’t cover this nearly as well.
This shop, especially with extended hours, in a family neighborhood with children gathering in that area so frequently is really not appropriate.
Blazin Gifts absolutely needs to be shut down. Kids in Menlo Park need to get creative and make bongs out of tin foil and apples like I had to.
Everyone is sooooooo progressive until it’s in their backyard.
I don’t have a problem with adults consuming adult products. But, communities do have zoning rights. This location is clearly near where children congregate. There are other locations which are not in areas where kids go by every day. It’s also infuriating when the shop owners were advised about regulations (like the sign) and STILL did it. It’s like the jerks that showed up at 6am to tear the heritage Park Theater sign down. Plus, that’s a neighborhood and being open until 2am is a nuisance to those residents.