Jenny Lemons, a colorful boutique located at 3043 24th St. for the past six years, has moved to a pop-up location at the Ferry Building, opting to shut its Mission store by the end of November.
“We have not been profitable for months, and I cannot afford to keep the shop open,” the owner, Jennie Lennick, announced last Wednesday on social media. “I’ve tried everything, and it’s not working.”
The last day of the shop’s Mission location will be Nov. 30, though the store will continue selling items online.
Ryen Motzek, the president of Mission Merchants Association, said small business corridors, such as 24th Street, are relying on customers who take public transit, and the 24th Street BART plaza has been a problem for months.
“People read news about people being murdered, the sidewalks are so packed you can’t even walk on them,” he said, referring to illicit street vending in the plaza. This discourages people from coming to shops and restaurants in the Mission, Motzek said.
The homicide rate in the Mission is down year-over-year, while the violent crime rate is flat. There was a fatal stabbing at the corner in July, however, and several shootings nearby.
Jenny Lemons and other stores are already fighting against the move to online shopping that began years ago, but became even a bigger competitor thanks to the pandemic. No amount of redecorating seems to have helped.
The boutique, painted in bright yellow with windows covered by hand-painted signs and illustrations, sells various food-themed clothes and accessories: Hair claws shaped like hot dogs, buttered toasts, croissants and pickles, as well as sweaters and dresses with colorful patterns.
Lennick said the closure has been on her mind for months, and she finally made the decision when seeing September’s sales at the brick-and-mortar shop were down by 30 percent compared to the same month last year.
“We haven’t really turned any profits this year,” she said. “We are paying over $14,000 just to keep the doors open.”
She said the new Ferry Building location will allow her to only worry about rent, with everything else, such as staffing, utilities and payroll taxes taken care of. The shop currently has four employees who also learned about the closure last Wednesday.
“I just think we do better online,” one of the employees at the shop said on Tuesday. “We don’t need the space anymore.”
Lennick did not take the decision to close the store lightly. Earlier this year, she remodeled the entire shop, hiring local sign painters, repainting the premises and even getting new furniture, but none of these efforts seemed to pay off.
“We did everything to make it beautiful so people could stop and come in, but we didn’t see any real result at all,” she said, adding that customers on 24th Street are no longer shopping as much, and “not here to buy fun hair clips.”
At the same time as the sales for the physical shop declined, her online sales are growing, she said. Half of Jenny Lemons’ online sales come from San Francisco, and sometimes the shop ships to “a place two blocks away.”
Erick Arguello, the president of the current Calle 24 council, echoed that sentiment. “The business model has changed,” said Arguello. “It’s a whole new world after Covid-19; it really pushed people online.”
Despite a lower vacancy rate on 24th Street compared to other parts of the Mission, Motzek said, he has observed other neighborhoods, such as North Beach, having better luck picking up businesses. “A lot of resources that other neighborhoods get, the city has fallen short of those in the Mission.”
As a result, Motzek said, the responsibilities of up-keeping the streets fall on the small businesses themselves.
“small business corridors, such as 24th Street, are relying on customers taking public transit, and the 24th Street BART plaza has been a problem for months. ”
Huh, maybe Calle 24 et al shouldn’t be constantly prioritizing keeping a few parking spaces for their own members to park over absolutely everything else. Maybe they should fight for more public transit coverage instead. Wouldn’t hold my breath for it, though.
Huh?
I like to eat cold KFC in the morn with dark french roast coffee.
We live in Bernal Heights and 24th street used to be our main shopping and dining area. But ever since conditions deteriorated around the BART plaza, we avoid the area at all costs. We now go to Cortland or Noe instead, or even drive to the westside. My wife rather takes the Muni from Noe then going near the BART station. Having a young child, this part of the Mission just does not feel safe anymore. It’s truly a disgrace. And where is Ronen? But then, given her past performance, maybe we are all better off with her being MIA.
The mission is so dirty, and over run with the drug tourists and lawlessness. There is an encampment on 15 and mission. It has gobbled up half the sidewalk, with debris strewn everywhere. The drug tourist have even set up a lovely chair and table to drink their beer, and watch people try and wiggle by their mess. Oh! And there is also a huge German Shepard pacing and growling. Many people have mentioned this on 311, no action for over a week
Then there is the mess of the weekend market on mission and 15th. Insanity. There is dirt human waste and trash overflowing every where. The Middle Ages must have been cleaner.
We live here. But if I had a choice, I would never visit. I would definitely not want to shop here
I stopped going to 24th street explicit because of my disgust at Calle 24’s cartel like practices. Been enjoying the Castro and North Beach a lot – light and day in terms of service, cleanliness, and experience!
What happened to Hilary Ronen? Is she still the district 9 supervisor? You never see her in the news or hear from her anymore.
Considering how wrong she is about everything, the city is better off now that she is taking a lengthy lame-duck paid vacation.
It is odd to me that San Francisco commercial landlords haven’t come to terms with reality. Everything about succeeding in a storefront business – shop, restaurant, service – starts with a manageable rent. And succeeding as a landlord requires your tenant to succeed. If you charge an unrealistic amount, maybe someone will bite, but it won’t work in the long run.
Calle 24’s own offices are not helping matters on the entrance to the corridor. Sure, the murals are nice but what could be a lively and welcoming retail/gallery/community space is instead gated, padlocked and has the blinds drawn most of the time.
The writer cites flat or declining violent crime rates, but there was just a mass shooting almost next door to that spot. As well as several recent stabbings and shootings a few blocks away at the BART plaza, which is still full of addicts selling stolen goods. Maybe it is unfair that these incidents and conditions have been widely publicized, but they are still real and have deterred foot traffic.
It really seems like most of the complaints about 24th and mission boil down to “I don’t like the aesthetics of people who are less wealthy than me”. Like, it s a really vibrant part of the neighborhood with a lot of great stuff in the immediate vicinity its just really not that bad
It’s despicable that you interpret drugs, crime and filth to “people less wealthy.” There are many hard working low income people in the Mission who wish the neighborhood would clean up. This is nothing to be proud of and immigrant businesses suffer the same with reduced foot traffic.
Interesting: with an alternate spelling of Ronin, wikipedia entry states: “…In feudal Japan (1185–1868), a rōnin ‘drifter’ or ‘wanderer’, lit. ’a person of the waves’)[1] was a type of samurai who had no lord or master and in some cases, had also severed all links with his family or clan. A samurai becomes a rōnin upon the death of his master, or after the loss of his master’s favor or legal privilege.[2][3] Hilary: where are-ya? Mission Control needs to know!
Jenny Lemon should get financial counseling from another business in the same building,on the corner of Treat and 24th. Praxis is ‘open’ maybe 8 hours a month (at most) yet they have been ‘in business’ for over a decade and they show not the slightest sign of financial distress or difficulty. I’d love to know how they even manage to pay their light bill.
the ‘summer of music’ series promoted by our ‘pal’ manny and noise pop failed to include certain parts of the city that really needed the support. i ‘attended’ many of the artists playing music on the corners in various neighborhoods over the course of the summer. i conversed, applauded and supported them.
valencia street not only had musicians but a complete street closure.
the haight was full of foot traffic as well as polk, divisdadero, cortland and clement street.
was it fear that prevented the tenderloin, market street or mission street from being included in these events? or was it her ‘zonor’s continuing war on the poor?
manny may present himself as a civic leader but he only represents and supports the wealthy white power structure in his actions.
ever since the city chopped down a plethora of trees along the corridor, 24th street looks bleak and uninviting. it is visually and aesthetically not very attractive.
I work past the Hairball on Cesar Chavez. 24th St was my go-to for lunch and after-work groceries. I’d linger a bit at Potrero Del Sol and chat with the gardeners a few days / week.
These days, I can’t bring myself to spend on 24th anymore. That corridor is toxic. Mad respect for many of the businesses tho.
Wait, isn’t this the place where they had that mass shooting next door a while back? Well gee, call me stupid, I wonder why nobody wants to set foot here?
That same shady bar that had the recent mass shooting was the place some ‘hells angel kingpin’ was shot in 2010 or so. After that guy was shot,half the city suddenly claimed to have known him as a ‘wonderful’ person,’great father’ etc. Ridiculous,predictable and completely pointless all of it.Who wants to be around this?
I wonder who will miss it.
People who appreciate a diversity of businesses in the neighborhood run by kind business owners.