By Tasia Potasinski
“Rent” is a four-letter word, particularly if you’re a small business in San Francisco. If you’re like me, you’ve probably wondered how the mom-and-pop coffee shops around the corner or the family-owned dry cleaner that’s been passed down for generations make ends meet.
The short story, unfortunately, is that they often don’t, and every day it’s getting harder for these businesses to pay for their spaces. Examples of this problem exist all around us.
My old haunt and favorite breakfast spot, Judy’s Cafe, was shut down this May when the landlord insisted that Charles Bain, the manager and owner of Judy’s, vacate the space. Bain never received an offer to renew his lease — he was simply evicted. The homey, happy breakfast joint was going into its 30th year of serving up hearty omelets, fresh juices and stacks of pancakes in an atmosphere so cozy, it rivaled grandma’s house. It seemed like its doors were closed overnight.
Evictions and rent increases are shutting down more than just family-owned breakfast joints. Businesses that support senior citizens, preserve important historical or cultural relics and help expand people’s minds are all being affected and crowded out.
So what can a person do to help solve this problem? One answer is to offer support at crowd-funding sites like Indiegogo, which are running campaigns to save small businesses in San Francisco from being snuffed out due to exorbitant rent prices.
One in particular, which you can contribute to now through October 17, supports the San Francisco Senior Center (SFSC). Established in 1947, the SFSC is the oldest nonprofit senior center in the country. Some donation options offered sweet Fleet Week perks — and that’s in addition to the warm, fuzzy feeling you get from donating. The goal for the campaign is to ensure that the center can afford rent through 2018 — by then, let’s hope we have reasonable rent legislation to help the SFSC continue to thrive.
Another campaign, which recently closed after successfully meeting its funding goal, helped preserve a historic mural in the Mission.
However, some campaigns have been less successful. Bibliohead Bookstore was temporarily booted from their space for earthquake retrofitting. The store was launched almost 30 years ago, and much like Dog Eared Books in the Mission, it sold mostly used books, all while fostering a sense of community for bookworms. The small business still reached 7 percent growth annually, but it ultimately fell far short of reaching the funding goal.
So to what extent are rents being raised, exactly? For some businesses, monthly rates are rising by as much as $4,000. Yes, that’s three zeroes, and when you’re a family-owned operation charging your customers an honest rate, that’s enough to break your business.
Small companies just can’t compete with large corporations when it comes to paying fixed costs, like rent. Bibliohead’s 7 percent annual growth might be right on track with that of other small used-books stores, but compared to booming tech companies that see growth amounting to 33 times their base in the course of one year, their numbers seem obsolete, making it difficult for them to keep up with ever-increasing rental rates.
But the tech industry, in my opinion, isn’t to blame — after all, the point of start-ups in tech is to create quick, exponential growth; whereas small businesses rely on a consistent and slow but nonetheless steady level of growth. Some start-ups even bolster small-business growth. Airbnb recently released data showing how home sharing supports small businesses in communities across the world.
And the benefit, at least for companies like Airbnb, is mutual. Small businesses add personality and charm to every neighborhood. They offer safe havens for our senior citizens and affordable used books (sometimes with the previous author’s insightful notes in the margin), and they preserve a slice of history.
So how can you help save San Francisco small businesses? Consider supporting a crowd-funding campaign, check out SF Small Business Week for updates in the community, and skip Starbucks in lieu of cafes like Caffe Cento or Sightglass.
