Blaming rising rents, the owner of Clothes Contact at 473 Valencia St., sent out an e-mail Saturday saying that the thrift shop will close soon.
The thrift store announced last summer that it would be closing by the end of 2014, but has held on.
The store has been a fixture on Valencia Street since 1986 and the place where many have gone to on Halloween and before Burning Man.
“We are starting a store wide, 1/2 off sale today. Until we close our doors for good,” wrote Werner Werwie, the owner.
When he opened in 1986, he wrote: “Valencia and 16th was a wasteland. The only “pioneers” there were Rainbow Groceries and the Picaro Cafe.
Selling used clothing on a scale, “by the pound” was a new concept in San Francisco. Clothes-Contact was a success from day one!”
In a reference to Borderlands recent announcement that it was closing because of the minimum wage (the latter found a second life with a sponsor program) – Werwie wrote “rents are the reason we will not be renewing our lease (not higher minimum wages, Healthy SF or having to pay sick days).”