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SF Market Closing After 35 Years, Owner Cites Homelessness as a Factor

John Sexton, HotAir:

When a brand new Whole Foods store in San Francisco closed last year we eventually learned why. The safety of the store's workers and the financial situation of the store itself were being impacted by the homeless.

People threatened employees with guns, knives and sticks. They flung food, screamed, fought and tried to defecate on the floor, according to records of 568 emergency calls over 13 months, many depicting scenes of mayhem.

“Male w/machete is back,” the report on one 911 call states. “Another security guard was just assaulted,” another says. A man with a four-inch knife attacked several security guards, then sprayed store employees with foam from a fire extinguisher, according to a third...

Police described theft as rampant at Whole Foods, with thieves walking out with armfuls of alcohol, at least at the start. After 250 shopping hand baskets were stolen, the company restocked with 50 more. Those went missing, too.

Over the weekend, a market which has been in business for 35 years announced it was closing one of its two locations for the same reason. Owner David Pesusic cited rampant theft by homeless people as a major factor. 

In addition to inflation-fueled bills and declining foot traffic, the small grocery and deli has suffered from “rampant” crime, including near-daily shoplifting and three break-ins in the past couple years, Pesusic said. He blamed city officials for the increased crime, slamming law enforcement and city leaders for being unresponsive and overly permissive.

“Our family business is going down the tubes because the idiots in City Hall can’t protect us,” Pesusic told the Chronicle.

Statistically, crime is down in the city compared to last year, but Pesusic says the numbers don't tell the whole story. His store doesn't even call police half the time because they know no one will show up anyway, at least not for many hours.

Law enforcement has taken hours to respond to petty crimes at Bayside, if they respond at all, Pesusic said. During two of the three break-ins the business faced over the past two years, he said police officers took over eight hours to arrive on the scene. And the market’s employees have stopped reporting shoplifting incidents, which Pesusic said occur at least 5- 6 times a week, and sometimes up to five times in one day...

In the absence of law enforcement, people deal drugs right outside Bayside’s doors and serial shoplifters operate with no consequences, Pesusic said. 

“These guys think our store is a pantry where they can take whatever they want,” Pesusic said. “We’ve been spit at, we’ve had knives pulled on us, we’ve been called names.

The homeless aren't the only thing driving Pesusic out of business. He showed the SF standard an electricity bill that jumped $3,000 between July and August. There's not much he can do about that. California's electricity rates are some of the highest in the country and are especially bad in northern California. But ultimately, the last straw for Pesusic was the safety of his employees.

“I can’t prevent the homeless coming in, I can’t prevent shoplifters, I can’t control PG&E’s rates,” Pesusic told The Standard. “How do you justify staying?”...

“The only reason that we’ve lasted as long as we’ve lasted — it’s gonna make me cry — is our dedicated employees, you know, them having our backs and watching out over what’s going on inside of the store,” Pesusic said.

In the days since the closure notice was posted on the door, customers have praised the owners for telling it like it is — even as they mourn the loss of the neighborhood market.

“Everyone has complimented us and said, ‘Well said,’” Pesusic noted. “We stated no lies. Life is more important than a dollar, and the city doesn’t get that.”

The doors of Bayside Market will close permanently this Friday.

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