Five and Diamond, an alternative fashion boutique at 510 Valencia St. between 16th and 17th streets, is closing its location in San Francisco after 17 years and moving to Portland, Oregon, its owner confirmed on Tuesday.
The store will close on Jan. 28. It will look “normal” up until Jan. 14, its owner said, after which even its fixtures and displays will go up for sale as the store is dismantled.
Sales for the fourth quarter of 2023 were down more than 60 percent from the prior year, owner Haley Lynn said. She was counting on holiday sales to balance out losses in October and November, but “it was worse than ever before.”
Lynn has been thinking about closing for a while, but after seeing the poor Christmas sales numbers, she signed the new lease in Portland last week.
“San Francisco will always live in our hearts,” Lynn said. “We know it will come back, it always does. We just can’t afford to wait it out.”
Initial data from the San Francisco Controller’s office showed an overall drop-off in sales tax along the Valencia Street corridor in the second quarter of 2023 of 6 percent, indicating a modest but significant downturn. But Lynn argued that the sales tax data itself isn’t enough to show the impact on the brick-and-mortar stores, as it didn’t indicate where the sales are coming from.
For example, Five and Diamond has seen an uptick in online sales coming locally from the city, and it has also been holding more events to get income. But those did not reflect the struggles of the physical storefront, Lynn said.
Although reluctant to blame the Valencia Street center bike lane for the closure, Lynn said the loss of parking spaces along the business corridor contributes to fewer customers going to the store. No parking spots were removed in front of Five and Diamond, but the corridor overall saw a decrease.
Customers complained that they tried to come to the store, but ended up leaving in frustration after driving around and not being able to find any parking, Lynn said.
“It’s always been hard to find parking, but now it’s impossible,” Lynn said. “You can drive around for an hour — nothing!”
The owner also blamed the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency for its timing of an experimental central bike lane, at a time when businesses are struggling already, following the pandemic and flooding last winter. Lynn said the agency should subsidize businesses before moving on with the project.
“The pandemic ate up our savings, and we don’t have the cushion to fall back on anymore,” she said.
The Valencia Streetscape Project of 2010, she said, also took up parking spaces with construction. But, at the time, “We had three strong years under our belt, so we had the savings to get us through.”
After making the hard call to leave, choosing Portland as Five and Diamond’s next home came naturally, said Lynn, pointing to its affordability and vibrant alternative culture.
Both cities face a housing and homelessness crisis, but Lynn said Portland seems to have “launched into action,” citing the Safe Rest Villages project, which provides shelter to homeless residents before they find permanent housing.
“We just saw a lot of positive change there, versus in San Francisco, it seems to just keep getting worse,” Lynn said. “It’s heartbreaking to watch this, and to feel that the city doesn’t care. I know it will rebound, I’m just wondering how long it’s gonna take.”
Five and Diamond’s January hours can be found here. A closing party is scheduled on Jan. 13 from 6 to 10 p.m. at 510 Valencia St.
I doubt businesses along Valencia or Mission Streets lost any business from bicyclists. The loss of business resulted from pedestrians dependent on parking spaces. The increase in bicyclists as a result of the Valencia bike lane was not sufficient to offset the loss of business from car drivers. I personally no longer shop there because I do not want to schlep purchases on MUNI where I feel unsafe.
SFMTA operates like a fiefdom and have hurt businesses throughout the City. The City parking garage at Fifth and Mission Streets is a prime example. They charge $10 an hour or fraction thereof. So I was charged $20 for 65 minutes one day even through 90% of the parking spaces were vacant. What are these bureaucrats doing with the money? Our useless government needs to exercise more oversight.
I have shopped at Five and Diamond for Leather and Burning Man type gear.
I suspect, like a lot of people, unless I need the gear right now, I can buy it much cheaper on the Internet with less shopping time and effort.
Could changing consumer patterns, especially in SillyCon Valley, be the real culprit?
The recession is definitely a factor but my friends with stores in similar markets in the Haight and Castro are not seeing as drastic a decline.
The doom loop is real. No matter how many messengers are killed. Keep empowering the worst of society and all you end up with is the worst society.
Keep buying on Amazon and retail stores will disappear. So, you want the convenience of online shopping with “better deals” and now you’re “sad” that this store is closing. Seriously? Enjoy walking down Valenica street right now because it will all be gone one day. It’s a slow process, but it’s underway.
I agree. As someone who’s been on Valencia over 30 years doing business.
Not everyone is healthy enough to ride a bicycle, or walk from an unattended parking lot. Wishing you the best luck in Portland, we’ll miss you.
1. There are THREE parking garages off Valencia. Mission Street, just one block away from Valencia, is served by multiple busses and BART.
2. Pedestrians & bicyclists are more likely to support small, local businesses than people in cars. Ms. Lynn, I’m sorry you are leaving and that you did not feel supported by our City but lack of parking was not the issue. There’s an irony that you are moving to Portland, one of the U.S.’s top bike friendly cities. If only our mayor had the courage to make Valencia a car-free oasis because multiple studies have proved that car-free streets generate more money for those businesses. https://www.planetizen.com/news/2023/02/121370-bike-lanes-are-good-business-why-dont-business-owners-believe-it
When you have literal customers calling and emailing telling you that they cannot find parking so will not be coming then it’s hard to deny that lack of parking is an issue. It seems funny to me that people who don’t own businesses on Valencia think they know more than the people who are living it every day. Also during peak hours those garages are full. Lastly, we love bike lanes and support them. It’s the removal of 70% of parking spaces that we don’t support. Portland has plenty of parking, it’s mega easy to park everywhere! It’s also a much bigger city as far as square miles with the same population of San Francisco so not quite comparable.
Valencia Bicyclist don’t spend on Valencia they use it as a freeway get from work to home. They all shop online.
cars cars cars.
when will our society learn that this transportation model has only contributed to the demise of our climate and quality of life. it is not sustainable.
i have no sympathy for those who choose the convenience of a private car to function in their life. they expect (demand?) someone to provide them with a dedicated delay-free roadway and a special space to store their machine as it carries them from place to place. this is whimsical.
those without the wealth to pay for a private car bear the consequences of the selfish behavior of the privileged few: polluted air and water, lost real estate to support road infrastructure, collision deaths, pedestrian risks at intersections, accumulated plastic and toxic wastes in our environment, refinery fires, etc.
imagine if we could reclaim all the land used for roads and build homes in their place.
there is cost for converting our society into a more sustainable transit system. some business models that aren’t capable of evolving will fail. the result will be better for all not just the valencia street businesses.
now if the goddamn scooter and bikes would just respect pedestrians, utopia is within our reach.
The morons in the MTA are destroying SF.This is obvious with rent a crap bikes stealing public parking spots. Speed bumps hurt disabled and elderly. They need to go.Elected morons are not much better.Closing Market Street to cars was just the beginning of the demise of retail downtown. The much hated bike lane on Valencia is not the last moronic decision. Closing Mission Street to cars in some places is moronic. I used to go on random walking expeditions in various parts of SF.No longer.The moronic voters are just as bad.Closing Golden Gate Park to cars hurts Haight Street businesses and 9th Avenue businesses .A bike lane was not enough for their entertainment. Yes many are entertaining themselves and I do not give a crap about them.I have not been able to go to the Conservatory of Flowers since the loss of 1,000 parking spots. Please do not tell me their membership is up since the loss of parking.Yes THE MORONS OF SF VOTED FOR THIS.
I think this is really part of a broader economic upheaval that is way bigger than the Valencia bike lane, the Mission, or even the city. LOTS of businesses are going to be folding in the next few months across the Bay Area.
16th and Hoff has a parking garage. Anyone driving for an hour looking for parking just wants a freebie.
Actually that garage is always full during peak hours.
And anyone shopping at Five and Diamond does not financially need to save $3 on parking.