"Neighbors are neighbors," Planning Commissioner Sean McGarry said in late September, near the end of an hour-long hearing about a single gift shop. "One neighbor cannot just tell another what they can do and what they cannot do." Mission Local reported that McGarry has lived in the Inner Richmond since 2011, and that the commission then voted unanimously to let Therapy Stores open at 32 Clement Street near Second Avenue. The storefront has been empty since 2024.
The vote settled a legal question about how many stores Therapy runs. The hearing spent most of its hour on who decides what belongs on Clement Street. San Francisco's code answers that by counting. On Clement, the answer has mostly come from a group of volunteer merchants who also close the street to traffic for its biggest days.
How a Gift Shop Reached Number Eleven
A shop with a handful of Bay Area locations doesn't usually need a commission hearing. It needed one here because of how the city counts. The San Francisco Planning Department's formula retail rules apply to a business with 11 or more other locations, worldwide, that are either open or already approved to open. The business also needs at least two standardized features, such as merchandise, façade, décor, signage or a trademark. In neighborhood commercial districts, a chain needs a Conditional Use Authorization. That means a public hearing, and the commission has to find that the project fits the General Plan and serves the city's general welfare.
Therapy's count went like this, according to Mission Local's coverage:
- In March 2026, Therapy opened a location on Irving Street in the Inner Sunset. Mission Local described it at the time as the company's 11th store.
- Clement Street merchants complained to the city that a Clement store, which would have been number 12, made Therapy a chain.
- A San Bruno location later closed, which made Clement the 11th.
- The code also counts locations that are approved but not yet open, so the Clement store still went to a hearing. Owner Jing Chen said she and the Planning Department chose that route rather than "arguing any technicalities."
So a single closure in San Bruno can change how a block in the Inner Richmond gets reviewed. The rule measures a business by how many locations it has open or approved. It has no measure for whether a business belongs on a particular corridor.
What the Hearing Actually Weighed
Since the law only counts, the hearing filled in everything else. Chen spoke early and defended her business directly. "If there is a chain, I am the chain," she told the commission, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported. "There is no executive team. There are no outside investors."
The Clement Street Merchants Association made a different case. According to the Chronicle's account, President Chris Squire objected that the space had been fully built out without permits, and that a neighborhood meeting came only after the city issued a notice of violation. Chen said at the hearing that she had done some work "without fully understanding the planning code" and stopped once the issue came up. Squire also said Clement Street's vacancy rate is below 5%, and that "we don't have a problem of businesses not wanting to come to Clement Street." On most retail streets, landlords and planners treat a new tenant in a long-empty space as good news. On a street where under one storefront in twenty is empty, the debate turns to which tenant gets the space.
Public comment split evenly, five speakers against and five in favor, according to Mission Local. Both outlets reported that merchants on the nearby blocks, including the owners of Tantrum and The Future Past, said Therapy's stock would overlap with what they already sell. The Chronicle reported that supporters included Seana Boehm of Amano Studio, a jewelry maker who said Therapy has carried her designs for 30 years and helped her grow to a full-time staff of eight.
The commissioners kept returning to the gap between what the law measures and what the room was arguing about. As Mission Local reported, Commissioner Mike Chen said he was uncomfortable deciding "on the basis of character attestation." He said he sees an 11th outpost of a local business as different from a national retailer, and he leaned toward approval with conditions. Planning staff noted the limits of their role in the same report: "we cannot dictate what a particular shop sells." Jing Chen promised to work with merchants so her merchandise doesn't duplicate theirs.
The Same Volunteers Run the Street's Calendar
Since the code only counts storefronts and planning staff can't set inventory, much of the day-to-day upkeep of Clement Street's character falls to the group that showed up to object. The Clement Street Merchants Association describes itself as merchant volunteers who promote the neighborhood, advocate for local businesses, organize community events and improve the street. Its list of activities makes up most of the street's public calendar.
| What | When | Where | Status as of mid-October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clement Street Farmers Market | Sundays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine | 244 Clement | 2026 dates listed through Dec. 27 |
| Clement Street Art Fair + Broke-Ass Stuart Day | Saturday, Oct. 17, noon to 5 p.m. | Clement, Sixth to Eighth avenues, closed to traffic | Free with RSVP |
| Halloween | October | Clement Street | Listed among association activities |
| Clementime | Traditionally the first Thursday evening in December | Clement Street | Association's events page still shows the 2025 stroll |
The Agricultural Institute of Marin, which manages the Sunday market, calls it San Francisco's longest-running street-closure market. This Saturday's event is the third annual art fair and the second Broke-Ass Stuart Day, produced with WorkshopSF. The listing promises art activations, live music and local makers along two closed blocks. The street's other big fall gathering, the 10th Richmond District Autumn Moon Festival, filled Clement between Eighth and 11th avenues on Sept. 12. Hoodline reported more than 100 vendors, along with food, performances and family programming.
Seen next to the calendar, the hearing makes more sense. The merchants who argued about 32 Clement are the same people who decide every week what the street looks like when cars aren't on it. We've written before about what a strong main street contributes to a San Francisco neighborhood. On Clement, a lot of that work is unpaid and done by the shops themselves.
The Changes the Formula Retail Rule Didn't Reach
Over the same months, Clement changed in ways the formula retail rule doesn't address. None of the coverage of these businesses describes them as chains under the city's definition.
At Arguello, Rose Pizzeria began serving in late April at 1 Clement, in the former Village Pizzeria space. The Richmond Review reported that it comes from Alexis Rorabaugh and Gerad Gobel of Berkeley. Gobel told the paper the owners wanted to serve the Richmond neighborhood despite the restaurant's national attention. The summer menu included Southern California mango gelato, and house-made preserves were due in August.
Farther west, 837 Clement lost a service many people had treated as a post office. Its last day was June 18, after 17 years. As the Richmond Review explained, it was a Contract Postal Unit: a private business offering postal services under a USPS contract that either side could end with 120 days' notice. USPS ended the contract after deciding nearby post offices could serve the area. The paper noted that the 3245 Geary Station has taken over that work. One longtime customer told the paper it was "a magic post office." The closure came down to a decision by USPS on its contract.
At 130 Clement, the former Spanish Table space is set to become Kitchen Commons. It is a cookware and pantry shop with a cafe, prepared food, and planned cooking classes and demonstrations, according to The Standard. Its founders are longtime Inner Richmond residents Jeff Hanak, a co-owner of Liholiho Yacht Club and Good Good Culture Club, and Connor Bruce, formerly the chef at Nopalito. As of this writing, the shop's own website still says "coming fall 2026."
This year, all three changed where people on Clement get pizza, mail packages and, soon, shop for cookware. None of them came up in the formula retail debate.
Where 32 Clement Stands Now
On Sept. 25, merchants told Mission Local they would consider appealing the approval. We have found no later report confirming that an appeal was filed. We also haven't seen an opening date for the Therapy store in the coverage so far. For now, the next scheduled date on the block is Saturday's art fair, when Clement closes from Sixth to Eighth avenues at noon.
If you own on or near Clement and want to know how a corridor with low vacancy, active merchants and a busy calendar figures into what your home is worth, Brandi Mayo can walk you through it block by block. Request a home valuation or Work With Brandi.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
