(HorizonPost.com) – The owner of San Francisco’s iconic home décor store Gump’s warned last weekend that the store may have to close down after over 160 years in business, due to homelessness, drug use, and other conditions that have made the city “unlivable” for residents, “unsafe” for store employees, and “unwelcome” to tourists, CBS News reported.
In an open letter published as a full-page ad in the San Francisco Chronicle, Gump’s owner John Chachas called on San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Governor Gavin Newsom, and city supervisors to remove the homeless encampments, clean the streets, and enforce local ordinances to return the city “to its rightful place as one of America’s shining beacons of urban society.”
Chachas said that as a result of the city’s deterioration, the legendary retail store may only be open for one more holiday season.
Chachas blamed San Francisco’s current problems on the city’s pandemic policies coupled with the “litany of destructive San Francisco strategies” like permitting the homeless to “occupy our sidewalks” while harassing the public, openly using illegal drugs, and defiling the city’s streets.
In June, Park Hotels & Resorts abandoned two downtown San Francisco hotels located near the Moscone Center, the conference venue that brought thousands of professionals to San Francisco each year before the pandemic.
In a statement, Park Hotels CEO Thomas Baltimore cited the empty offices, concerns over safety, street conditions, and contracting business travel to the city as the main reasons owning hotels in San Francisco has become untenable. Baltimore said that the city’s road to recovery continues to be hampered by “major challenges.”
The record-high vacancies in office space have not only hollowed out the once-bustling downtown but have also led to an increase in retail thefts.
In April, Whole Foods shut down its flagship Trinity Place store over concerns for its staff members’ safety.
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