Castro Retail Strategy Nears Completion

As San Francisco prepares to celebrate the annual Small Business Week, community leaders in the Castro are finalizing a retail strategy to assist with filling vacant storefronts throughout the city's gay district.

The Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District last summer launched the effort to create the strategy and has been working with the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association, the Castro/Eureka Valley Neighborhood Association, and the Castro Merchants group to develop it.

Last fall 1,200 patron surveys were gathered, both online and at various street locations in the Castro and along upper Market Street, to provide a better insight into who is shopping in the district and what stores people felt were missing.

The final report is set to be unveiled in early June, but some preliminary results have already been shared with Castro merchants and community leaders. Of the survey respondents, 77 percent lived in San Francisco, with 43 percent residents of the Castro or upper Market area.

In terms of how they travel to the Castro, 18 percent of the survey respondents said they drove a car, while 47 percent walked and 25 percent came by public transit. Four percent rode a bicycle.

While a bakery, butcher shop, and additional clothing stores, particularly for women, are among the businesses deemed most desirable to attract to the Castro, the number one retailer many survey takers said they wished would open in the neighborhood is Trader Joe's.

The national grocery chain has twice eyed locations in the Castro but both times dropped its plans due to concerns about parking and traffic impacts at the sites.

"People are goo-goo gaga for Trader Joe's," Danny Yadegar, the project coordinator for the retail strategy, told Castro merchants last week during a presentation about the preliminary plan. "The issue is siting. It is very difficult because Trader Joe's needs a large footprint, which we probably don't have."

Some of the ideas likely to be included in the final report to promote the Castro commercial district to retailers and shoppers alike include developing a brand identity for the area, showcasing the businesses that already exist, and proactively reaching out to property owners and commercial brokers to discuss with them the types of businesses that would generate support from the neighborhood.

"I think there are some really great points in there," said Castro Merchants President Daniel Bergerac, a co-owner of Mudpuppy's Tub and Scrub on Castro Street. "Marketing the district is really important. People say we don't have a bakery, but we do at Thorough Bread and Pastry on Church Street."

An ongoing concern voiced by several merchants is maintaining a diverse group of stores in the Castro and pushing back against the influx of coffee shops, restaurants, and medical offices taking over what had been storefronts zoned for retail uses.

"We are seeing far less locals but a tremendous uptick in tourists during the daytime," said Terry Asten Bennett, whose family owns Cliff's Variety on Castro Street. "We get comments all the time from customers that there are not enough other businesses other than restaurants open in the daytime. We are not giving them enough to keep them here."

The preliminary plan recommends additional improvements to the streetscape, which underwent a $6 million transformation last year along the 400 and 500 blocks of Castro Street. The city is now planning to make changes at a number of intersections along upper Market Street aimed at increasing safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Another suggestion calls for hiring dedicated staff to oversee implementation of the retail strategy and continued monitoring of the business climate in the Castro.

"This is really going to need ongoing funding to move it forward," said Elizabeth Libby Seifel, the owner of Seifel Consulting hired to assist with the development of the retail strategy.

Small Business Week Events

In the meantime, Castro merchants will be taking part in a daylong sidewalk sale Saturday, May 23 as part of this year's Small Business Week events.

The yearly commemoration of local retailers kicks off Saturday, May 16 with sidewalk sales in numerous other neighborhoods, including Glen Park, West Portal, and Noe Valley. The sidewalk sales on both Saturdays run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Tuesday, May 19 is the Mega Make Contact event cosponsored by the LGBT-focused Golden Gate Business Association, Castro Merchants, and the San Francisco LGBT Community Center. It takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the center, 1800 Market Street, and tickets at the door cost $25.

Throughout the day Friday, May 22 will be the annual Small Business Conference with 64 free workshops on various topics. It takes place at City College of San Francisco's Chinatown campus, located at 808 Kearny Street.

For a listing of all the events being held during Small Business Week, visit http://www.sfsmallbusinessweek.com. The site's blog also features interviews with local business owners, including Oasis gay nightclub co-owner Heklina and Kristy Lin Billuni, owner of the Sexy Grammarian.