Vegan restaurant Gracias Madre shuts down after 15 years due to San Francisco's 'deteriorating' conditions
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Gracias Madre, a popular vegan restaurant established by Matthew and Terces Englehart in 2009 in the Mission district, has reportedly shut down after 15 years.
Known for its celebrity clientele, that includes Meghan Markle, Natalie Portman and Liam Hemsworth at its West Hollywood branch, the restaurant had to down its shutters for good due to deteriorating conditions in the city.
According to manager Jospeh Donohue, the restaurant experienced significant fluctuations recently, with the workforce reduced from 40 employees to just four.
Gracias Madres leaves note for customers after shutting down
"The condition of life in San Francisco has deteriorated and made running a small business nearly impossible," a note left for customers on the restaurant's door read.
The note further read, "Our mission was always to honor the mothers who give so much to serve, care for and live in hope for their families, especially those of Mexico."
"We've got regular clients and customers that kept on saying it just seems too dangerous to come down here at night and I don't blame them," Donohue told CBS.
Gracias Madre, which opened in 2009, served traditional Mexican cuisine using local, organic, plant-based ingredients.
Donohue reportedly said the "economy" and "the state of the Mission" was responsible for the restaurant's closure.
"It's just a little shady in the area, the streets are not cleaned on a regular basis. It's almost as if it's like a forgotten side of the city," he told SFGate.
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San Francisco's retail exodus amid Covid-19 pandemic
San Madre's closure is part of a broader trend affecting San Francisco, with numerous prominent retailers also shuttering their operations, per the Daily Mail.
Nordstrom recently closed its flagship store. This was followed by Whole Foods, Anthropologie, Old Navy, AmazonGo, Saks Off Fifth and Office Depot.
To combat shoplifting, stores like Target have resorted to locking their merchandise behind glass.
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, 95 retailers in downtown San Francisco have closed, representing a decline of over 50%.
In the Union Square area alone, out of 203 retailers operating in 2019, only 107 remain open, marking a 47% decrease.
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Restaurant owner Zahra Saleh in the Lower Haight district also temporarily closed her business due to break-ins and shoplifting incidents, expressing feeling "violated" by the deteriorating situation.
"My Lower Haight is sinking in a sea of lawlessness," she wrote, adding, "And the ship captains and politicians are bickering among each other, blaming each other while small businesses suffer."
The city's Land Use Commissioner, Alex Ludlum, recently resigned, citing the dire street conditions and rampant criminality in his neighborhood.