Marc is a small business owner who operates two gas station convenience stores in Brentwood.
As a Californian and small business owner operating two gas stations in Brentwood, I take pride in serving my neighbors, employing residents, and supporting our city through the tax revenue my stores generate. That’s why I’m carefully watching the tobacco retail license ordinance being considered by the Brentwood City Council on August 26.
On the surface, this ordinance seems well-intentioned. Supporters argue that capping licenses or restricting legal tobacco sales is necessary to keep products away from minors or reduce litter. These goals I fully support. No one in Brentwood wants youth to have access to tobacco. But in crafting policies like this, it’s critical the City also considers the real-world impacts on responsible small businesses who follow the rules and serve our community.
Age verification is taken extremely seriously at my stores. Each month, we undergo 5 to 8 compliance checks, including sting operations run internally and externally. Employees who fail are immediately terminated.
We also participate in the nationally recognized BARS program to monitor sales of age-restricted products. Employees receive regular trainings, and our onboarding makes it clear that selling to minors is unacceptable. We’ve also invested in software to make compliance seamless. These safeguards ensure minors can’t purchase tobacco in my stores.
Illicit sellers, on the other hand, don’t run stings, train employees, invest in compliance tools, or check IDs. When cities make it harder for responsible businesses to sell legally, they risk shifting sales to bad actors who don’t keep minors safe.
We’ve witnessed what happens when laws push consumers away from legal retailers. After California banned flavored tobacco, sales didn’t disappear, they shifted underground. Studies show consumers still access flavored e-vapor despite the ban. According to the Mackinac Center, California now leads the nation in cigarette smuggling, with over 52% of cigarettes consumed here not properly taxed.
The result: California loses nearly $1.5 billion in tax revenue annually, money that supports critical health programs. Meanwhile, illicit markets thrive, minors gain easier access, and law-abiding retailers struggle to compete against sellers who ignore the rules.
Brentwood must learn from this. If the City moves forward without careful safeguards, the ordinance could unintentionally harm local businesses while doing little to reduce youth access.
For my businesses, tobacco sales aren’t about promoting smoking. They’re about keeping the doors open, employing residents, and funding community services through tax revenue.
As an example: my car wash is typically a seasonal business, but thanks to steady revenue from tobacco sales, I can keep employees working year-round, providing stable jobs for Brentwood families.
If local tobacco regulations are adopted without consideration for existing businesses, large corporations don’t suffer, but small business owners like me. It’s employees who lose hours or jobs. And it’s Brentwood itself that will lose critical tax revenue supporting city services.
We all share the same goal: keeping tobacco out of the hands of minors and protecting public health. The question is how to achieve that goal while also protecting Brentwood’s small businesses and economy.
That balance is possible. I urge the City Council to amend the ordinance to support existing, compliant retailers and ensure they can continue operating under safeguards already in place.
By taking a balanced approach: strengthening enforcement against illicit sellers, ensuring penalties are meaningful, and providing resources for education, Brentwood can achieve its public health objectives without devastating local businesses that have long supported our community.
On August 26, I urge the Brentwood City Council not to take a one-size-fits-all approach. By amending the ordinance to protect compliant retailers, we can safeguard both our community’s health and its local businesses, because Brentwood deserves nothing less.
Marc Strauch is President of The Strauch Companies, a franchisee of ARCO AM/PM. Marc has been an ARCO dealer since 1991, starting with one location and growing the company to twelve locations with one under construction. Mr. Strauch operates in the Greater Sacramento Area and the East Bay. Marc is a board member of the CFCA and WCA.
