A Broken Door in San Francisco Spotlights City's Struggles With Crime

A bakery that has been repeatedly vandalized in San Francisco says it's been forced to serve customers with a broken door for months because city officials have failed to pay for its repair.

Le Marais Bakery, on Sanchez Street in the Castro District, first hit the headlines back in December following repeated break-ins amid the city's crime wave. Shortly after Christmas, vandals smashed the glass door, stole equipment and an industrial safe, and trashed the premises; it was the store's sixth burglary, owner Patrick Ascaso said at the time.

Almost five months later, the damage has still not been fixed, with the store's frustrated boss posting a note in the window calling out the city's administration, alleging he's been met with infuriating silence despite his repeated requests for help.

It comes as the city has been gripped by crime, homelessness, and rampant drug use. In April, Whole Foods closed its downtown San Francisco location after just a year of business, with bosses saying they were unable to "ensure the safety" of their staff in the city. Nordstrom followed suit by leaving the city this month. But many smaller businesses have no choice but to remain.

Ascaso's note begins by thanking his neighbors for their support and apologizing to customers for the broken door. But he added: "We have applied to the City's Storefront Vandalism Relief Grant program seven times, with only one response: 'Your application was reviewed and was found incomplete, due to missing proof of damage. In order to be considered you must submit a new application...'

"This is an incorrect statement as we had submitted the correct proof. Additionally, the poof of damage had been filmed and reported on news outlets across the country. Nonetheless we went on to submit three more applications without responses."

He said that his business had spent $27,000 fixing windows since the pandemic began, and revealed that the broken door at Le Marais will cost a further $8,000 to replace.

"We are not writing this to receive the attention of national news—I am not a spokesperson for what is wrong with this city I love and my family calls home—but that said, we pay some of the highest small business taxes and fees in the nation," he said.

"Our elected officials promote this grant as a solution for local small businesses. We deserve some response and assistance from the. Until then, this door will remain broken, and I am sincerely sorry for this."

The note was undated, but a local took a photo of the sign and it was shared on Twitter on Sunday. The majority of replies to the post expressed sympathy with the business's plight and many criticized city officials, saying they were not doing enough to tackle crime or help the victims.

Gloria Chan, the director of communications for San Francisco's Office of Economic and Workforce Development, disagreed with Ascaso's account of the application process, telling Newsweek that it's "as easy and low barrier as possible so that business owners can focus on running their shop."

She said that Ascaso had failed to show proof of repairs, adding: Officials "followed up and reached out multiple times to help the applicant with the missing information and we have not heard back."

"Small businesses are the heart of our city," Chan said. "They provide so many important services to our community and for our city...Since the launch of the program in Sept. 2021, over $1 million has been awarded to 784 small businesses citywide. Every business awarded has completed the standard application process."

She said that the city is "addressing public safety concerns on multiple fronts" including a plan to begin "ramping up our [police] recruitment and retention efforts."

Update 05/16/23, 12:26 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development's Director of Communications, Gloria Chan.