San Francisco Store Owner Uses Ad to Blast 'Devastating' State of City

A San Francisco business owner has taken out an ad in a newspaper to condemn the declining quality of the city.

Luxury department store Gump's owner John Chachas wrote that his historic business may leave the city if conditions do not improve, in his open letter in the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper.

"If we were to leave central San Francisco it would mean a change of location for us—not a closure of our business," Chachas told Newsweek.

"We would simply be unable to continue to operate given the conditions of San Francisco and look for a healthier location outside the city."

This comes as San Francisco continues to suffer from a major crime wave that has seen a number of prominent retailers leave the city, citing crime as contributing factor behind the decision.

In his open letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom, Mayor London Breed and the Board of Supervisors, Chachas called for an improvement in the issues of homelessness, drug use and crime across San Francisco. Newsweek has contacted Gavin Newsom via email for comment.

A spokesperson for the Mayor's Office spoke to Newsweek and addressed these concerns and highlighted the efforts being made to improve the San Francisco area.

"In May, Mayor Breed announced a unified effort to disrupt open-air drug markets in partnership with local, state and federal public safety partners. So far this year, the City has surpassed the number of drug dealer arrests compared to the total amount of drug dealers arrested in 2022," the spokesperson said.

"We are also aggressively working to revitalize San Francisco's economic core in the Downtown area to deliver a safe and vibrant City for our residents, visitors, workers, and merchants," the statement continued.

"Like every major hub, San Francisco has challenges, and we understand people's frustrations, but we are seeing progress in our efforts."

Political commentator Richie Greenberg shared Gump's open letter on X, formerly known as Twitter, over the weekend.

"Today, as we prepare for our 166th holiday season at 250 Post Street, we fear this may be our last," he wrote in the ad in the Sunday edition of the paper.

"The ramifications of COVID policies advising people to abandon their offices are only beginning to be understood," Chachas added.

"Equally devastating have been a litany of destructive San Francisco strategies, including allowing the homeless to occupy our sidewalks, to openly distribute and use illegal drugs, to harass the public and to defile the city's streets.

"Such abject disregard for civilized conduct makes San Francisco unlivable for its residents, unsafe for our employees, and welcoming to visitors from around the world," Chachas wrote.

He added that San Francisco citizens deserve better than the current state the city is in and steps need to be taken immediately to see improvements.

"Gump's implores the Governor, the Mayor, and the City Supervisors to take immediate actions, including cleaning the city streets, removing homeless encampments, enforcement of city and state ordinances, and returning San Francisco to its rightful place as one of America's shining beacons of urban society," Chachas wrote.

"As San Franciscans, we will continue to support the compassionate efforts of helping those in need. But we believe failed public policies must be abandoned and a renewed focus must be brought to restore the city we all love."

If Gump's store in San Francisco were to close, it would be the latest casualty in a stream of businesses that have opted to leave the area.

In May of this year, Old Navy, a major retail flagship store in downtown San Francisco, announced it would be closing at the beginning of July.

This came after three decades in business, as it opened in 1999. The company did state that the reason for shutting down was not in any way related to the recent rise in crime in the area, however.

Newsom has also publicly voiced his frustration at the crime levels in San Francisco.

In late June, he told the San Francisco Chronicle, "there are plenty of laws on the books, and it'd be nice to see some of these damn laws enforced for a change.

"I'll be honest with you, my biggest gripe right now in San Francisco has been, frankly, we're not enforcing existing laws... we're not prosecuting the lawbreakers. Judges, D.A.s, the whole panoply—I want to see people held accountable for breaking the law," Newsom added.

He said that he would be doubling the number of state police officers to help crack down on fentanyl drug dealings in San Francisco.

Update: 08/18/23, 3:12 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comments from the Mayor's Office.

Update: 08/18/23, 5:28 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comments from John Chachas.