Photo by Lydia Chávez

Retro Fit, the place where customers could find the best costume, the coolest sunglasses or prettiest vintage purse, will close.

Steven LeMay, the owner, said he has to be out by Dec. 17, so there’s no Christmas for Retro Fit. LeMay tells the story best in the video, above.

In short, Retro Fit is being pushed out of its space at 910 Valencia St. because it cannot pay the rent demanded: $9,680  a month. We will catch up Monday with Veritas, the landlord, and Green Tree Property Management.

LeMay has been one of the most fun owners to talk to along the Valencia corridor. His departure feels similar to when Mia Gonzalez had to close Encantada Gallery and, suddenly, there was no single shop owner with all of the Mission’s history in her head — and the willingness to talk about it – on Valencia Street anymore.

Can a place lose its soul? Does a commercial corridor have a soul?

More immediately, a costume designer in the shop Saturday wondered what the opera and other performance groups would do with shops like Retro Fit gone. “It’s where we come to look for pieces that we need,” she said.

For now, LeMay has not found another space. Permits for the moving truck to park on Valencia’s bike lanes may mean the store will stay beyond the 17th, but that is still up in the air.

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I’ve been a Mission resident since 1998 and a professor emeritus at Berkeley’s J-school since 2019. I got my start in newspapers at the Albuquerque Tribune in the city where I was born and raised. Like many local news outlets, The Tribune no longer exists. I left daily newspapers after working at The New York Times for the business, foreign and city desks. Lucky for all of us, it is still here.

As an old friend once pointed out, local has long been in my bones. My Master’s Project at Columbia, later published in New York Magazine, was on New York City’s experiment in community boards.

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2 Comments

  1. Very sorry to hear about another fantastic long term business with a ruthless landlord. Good luck Steven. The neighborhood loves you.

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  2. It’s sad to see this happen again and again in SF these past few years — it is definitely becoming a different city. However, lots of cool businesses and people have moved to the East Bay — it’s where the Old Soul of The City has fled toward open arms. I LOVE THE VIDEO! Steven, you’re amazing — come to Oakland.

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