San Francisco store owner issues letter to city offcials, asking them to do something

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Gump's Department Store has been in San Francisco for more than 160 years, but this Christmas could be its last.

The owner says he's fed up with the crime, open drug use, and squalor on the streets of Union Square, and just wrote an open letter to city leaders and the governor, asking them to do something.

John Chachas, who acquired Gump's in 2019, bought a full page ad in Sunday's Chronicle to run the open letter. In the letter, he accuses the mayor, board of supervisors, and the governor of dereliction of duty to the city.

He goes on to write that "destructive" city policies have allowed the homeless to occupy sidewalks, openly use illegal drugs, harass the public and defile city streets, making the city unsafe for his employees and unwelcoming to visitors.

"Gump's is a very old business, so we have lots of very devoted customers who come to us for decades. But, we don't want to step foot in your city. That's just an astonishing statement. Until you correct that, you are going to continue to see this drain of commerce…You are in this loop, and until you change it so it's a liveable safe accessible city, you will not correct it," Chachas remarked.

Chachas says he's gotten nothing but positive feedback to his letter.