A San Francisco Board of Supervisors committee voted unanimously today to endorse a pilot plan that would require certain businesses in the South of Market neighborhood, like corner stores and smoke shops, to close between midnight and 5 a.m.
The aim is to improve street conditions and reduce crime.
The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee backed legislation proposed by District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey and District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood that would expand on an existing pilot program in the Tenderloin, which is due to expire in July.
The San Francisco Police Department has hailed the program as effective against drug markets, violence and property crime.
The new plan would enact an 18-month curfew on an expanded swath of Tenderloin businesses, and would extend down into parts of SoMa.
Retail food and tobacco establishments in the area would have to close by midnight. Those with liquor licenses could stay open until 2 a.m. Businesses that fail to comply would face fines of up to $1,000 per violation.
The curfew policy is “narrowly focused” on disrupting a small number of bad actors who have used late-night retail as “a magnet at the expense of neighborhood safety,” Dorsey said.
Police Capt. James Aherne, who oversees the city’s drug-enforcement response through the Drug Market Agency Coordination Center, argued in support of the proposed expansion, citing figures from a six-month analysis of the Tenderloin curfew.
Police recorded a 14 percent reduction in violent crime and narcotics incidents, a 17.9 percent reduction in calls for service during the curfew, and a reduction in “visible late-night street gatherings,” he said.
Aherne, along with Supervisors Dorsey, Mahmood and Alan Wong, said that a November 2025 study from researchers at Italy’s University of Sassari offered further evidence of the pilot’s effectiveness. The researchers found that, within nine months of the curfew, drug-related incidents fell by 56 percent between midnight and 5 a.m.
“We have to crack down on those evening, five-in-the-morning drug markets,” said Randy Shaw, executive director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, during the meeting’s public comment period. “We have to be aggressive in every possible way.”
Twelve other community members took to the podium to voice support for the pilot expansion.
Mission Local spoke on Wednesday to three SoMa shop owners who would be affected by the ordinance. They said lawmakers are unfairly targeting their businesses, risking employment opportunities and the local economy.
“It’s going to kill us,” said Abdul Almehdhar, owner of the 24-hour Habibi Market at the corner of Sixth and Stevenson streets. “By that law, it’s going to put my workers out of work.”
The Tenderloin curfew forced him to close a corner store he owned on Leavenworth Street, he said, and pushed his customers down into SoMa.
Habib Qaid, owner of the Golden Corner Market on Sixth Street, said his customers “come at night to look for food.” If the ordinance passes, he will have to lay off at least four employees.
Dorsey acknowledged that some businesses don’t like the approach, but said they are “willing to make a sacrifice because they are also members of the neighborhood.”
“I would ask all the neighborhood residents, those who spoke today, and everybody who was listening, to not just thank those small business owners, but to do everything we can to frequent them, support them,” he said.
“It is ultimately within our power as neighborhood consumers to offset the sacrifices they’re making overnight.”
The plan will go to the full Board of Supervisors in the coming weeks.
Totally ridiculous. Shutting down businesses because the police wont just do their job.
People need more rights and opportunities, not less.
Horrible policy. SoMA is the club neighborhood- too bad for you if you wanted a snack after a late night at f8, 1015, DNA or any of the other clubs near there. Seconding what Aly said here- this will only hurt (largely immigrant run) small businesses and all bc we have lazy, overpaid, useless cops.
I thought these supervisors cared about small businesses???
A gooner has a wildly different definition compared to a goon.
Awful. There is nothing open late night anywhere in this city. So many good comments here. Anyone who wants to buy drugs can buy them. If I wanted a freaking banana after midnight it is fully impossible in this city. If you know this is a problem, you can address it in other ways. And someone at the club can’t by a pack of cigarettes after midnight because of a small handful of drug dealers that the cops know by name and don’t do anything about?
Please tell me how making the streets deserted will decrease crime… Didn’t crime go up exponentially back during the scandemic when everyone was at home and the streets were empty there was chaos and lots of theft
I thought crime was down per the mayor. Now BOS are determined to destroy small businesses again. Here is a thought clean up Market Street, personally tired seeing the zombies going to from work on market street.
I’d like to know the exact numbers in terms of the statistics given. What does a “14 percent reduction in violent crime and narcotics incidents” really mean? 14% of; what has been reported; what has been documented; or what has actually occurred? These numbers can be manipulated to create a “inaccurate narrative”. 50% of 2 is only 1, which is a negligible improvement. I need to see the data before I make any conclusions. For argument sake, even if these numbers are truly representative of a decrease in crime, what are the numbers being compared to, and are they considering the multitude of other elements ie., cold weather, less foot traffic, etc. A 17.9 percent reduction in calls for service during the curfew??? There is definitely a decrease in “visible late-night street gatherings,” and I think that’s what is at the heart of this. This is about image, and being masked as a safety issue. I live in SOMA, and work late nights. I have never been bothered by the people out at these hours. I mind my own business and keep it moving. I miss the entertainment of late night walks thru Zombieland.
Violent crime fell in the city by 25% in 2025. So the 17% percent drop noticed during the curfew was less than the city at large? I am aware these were drops occurring over different time frames, but I mean to illustrate that drops noticed in the curfew area are meaningless without relevant comparisons. How can you evaluate the efficacy of the policy otherwise? This is ridiculous
Completely stupid idea on so many levels. Our politicians keep attacking these problems from the wrong angle. Why? They and their friends make a shite load more $ if the problem doesn’t get fixed.
I guess since the board of supervisors all have cars, lichens and don’t live in the neighborhoods they are banning late night stores I guess they would vote to close them. It doesn’t affect them in reality.
The funny thing is that you can still buy drugs at night you just can’t buy milk and cookies.
It’s all good people will just move up to another neighborhood. Close stores in the T.L., SOMA …What’s next the Mission?
What happened to living in the city?
And exactly how does this nanny-state curfew support Lurie’s initiative to revive the SOMA club and entertainment scene? How does forcing the Unimart at 8th and Howard to turn off the lights at midnight make the West Soma Entertainment District safer for clubgoers and staff after last call? What makes them think creating an arbitrary food desert is good for business? And whose bright idea was it to allow these two lonesome gooners free rein to reimpose COVID-style lockdowns on a part of the City that’s only now hitting its stride again? – This is what you get when you elect a pig in a poke because “he’s not Peskin!” God help us all.