San Francisco McDonald’s Shuts Down After 30 Years amid City’s Decline

A McDonald’s in downtown San Francisco, California, has shut down as the city grapples with numerous issues plaguing businesses in the area.

The fast-food location’s ownership, Scott Rodrick of Rodrick Management Group, had a negative view when speaking of the issue, Fox Business reported Saturday:

Office building vacancies, the environmental atmosphere of downtown sidewalks and a tepid return by tourists and conventioneers all drove the decision.

The economics of running a franchised restaurant in San Francisco continue to be a challenge, particularly in a downtown that is impacted by high office building vacancy rates and visitor trends that have not recovered since the pandemic. My Front Street location, without the benefit of parking and a drive-through, amplified the challenge.

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The location has been in business for 30 years, but employees have had to find work at other McDonald’s restaurants in the area.

Rodrick said his other locations are doing well after the coronavirus pandemic, but shuttering the downtown location was like “a gut punch.”

In May, San Francisco launched its first video advertising campaign in an effort to bring tourists back to the area after a long history of reports revealing its issues with crime, homelessness, and urban decay, Breitbart News reported.

“Downtown San Francisco has experienced the slowest pandemic recovery of any major U.S. city,” the outlet noted.

Video footage offers a glimpse into the problems homeowners and businesses in San Francisco are facing:

Meanwhile, local bank branches are closing up shop at their San Francisco locations due to the city’s economic decline and numerous other woes, Breitbart News reported Wednesday.

The report added, “some of the closures in San Francisco are related to the ongoing exodus of retail businesses, many of which were exhausted by the persistent problem of shoplifting.”

The Fox Business article also highlighted the fact McDonald’s has been concerned after California said it would institute a minimum wage increase that the business feared would not be a good thing for its franchisees. Workers’ baseline pay will rise to $20 an hour come April 1.