A Clark Avenue smoke shop that opened in 2018 found itself on the wrong end of Cleveland’s push to clamp down on new smoke and vape businesses.  

Stores that sell tobacco, vape products and cannabis derivatives can get a bad rap. But Mohammad Hamad, the proprietor of Fli High Smoke Shop, came to the Board of Zoning Appeals this month with character references. 

A letter from Metro West Community Development Corp. called Hamad a “reliable and responsive partner” in outreach, safety meetings and beautification efforts. Council Member Jasmin Santana also vouched for Fli High in an email to the board. 

Discovered by Documenters: Cleveland Documenters attended a Ward 14 community meeting about Fli High’s application. Read the notes here.

That wasn’t enough to win Fli High the zoning variance it needed to stay open. 

Cleveland passed new rules this year prohibiting smoke shops from opening within two miles of one another. Other shops have opened within two miles of Hamad’s. 

The problem for Fli High was that it didn’t have an occupancy permit and applied for one after the new law passed. So it couldn’t be grandfathered in.

Fli High’s attorney, Scott Mullaney, told the board that Hamad thought he had followed all the rules when he opened his business. The occupancy permit “slipped through the cracks,” he said. Because of that technicality, the new smoke shop law was being retroactively applied to Fli High, Mullaney argued. 

Cleveland officials suggested Hamad could convert his business to a convenience store. That way, he could still sell a limited number of smoke products while staying open. 

Hamad told Weekly Chatter that he planned to appeal the denial. He said that he opened before the other shops near him. 

“We have too many smoke shops around us, but that wasn’t my fault,” he said. 

Still, Hamad said that he did not hold the decision against City Hall. If the city needs him to move, he’ll move, he said. 

“You don’t want me to be here, some people don’t want me to be here, I get it,” he said. “I understand. I [will] go somewhere else.”