‘You can only take so much’: South Beach market to close after 35 years, citing crime, costs
After 35 years in business, a family-owned market in South Beach is closing its doors. Co-owner David Pesusic said high operation costs and mounting neighborhood crime were the driving factors.
Bayside Market, at 120 Brannan St. near the Embarcadero, will cease operations on Sept. 13. Some of its 12 employees will be transferred to RJ’s Market near Fisherman’s Wharf, the owners’ other location, but most will be laid off, Pesusic said.
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.
“All city hall cares about is the homeless and the fentanyl crisis, not the everyday law-abiding citizens trying to make a living,” Pesusic wrote in a statement announcing the business’s closure, which was taped to Bayside Market’s door. “To that effect, having to deal with shoplifters every day and multiple breakins has just become unbearable, especially when law enforcement doesn’t arrest and city hall doesn’t prosecute.”
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/sf-market-closing-19749807.php
h/t CharlieFoxtrot