By Bob Walsh
GUMP'S has been a fixture in downtown San Francisco since
shortly after the gold rush. The 166-year old single-location store is
located at 250 Post St, only one block off Union Square. They sell
high-end furnishings and jewelry. They just "sent" an open letter to
the governor, mayor and board of supervisors via a paid ad in the San
Francisco Chronicle warning them that this year may be their last
Christmas season in San Francisco. The store is owned by John
Chachas.
Chachas asserts
that the city is now essentially unlivable and is demonstrably unsafe
for their workers and customers. In the last three years at least 39
retail stores have beat feet from the Union Square area. In addition
Nordstroms has closed both its SF locations and the Westfield
Mall has
given up the ghost. Even the Hilton is closing down in S.F.
In
a somewhat related bit of news the Hayes Point Tower Project, a $1.2
billion mixed use building that was supposed to revitalize downtown,
announced that they are closing down construction on the project due to
lack of interest. The building was supposed to have 333 very nice
residential units and 290,000 square feet of office and commercial
space. For some reason they seem to believe that people are unwilling
to live and work in a dangerous, shit-encrusted shooting gallery. I
can't imagine why.
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