People have thrown a phone and even a microwave at the store’s exterior. There has been violence toward staff from shoplifters. In just two years of business, Double Down, a skate zine turned vintage-clothing outlet on Valencia Street, has had its share of abuse.
“Constantly, there’s people who want to destroy the shop for no reason,” said Alexis Moore, who works there.
Until recently, Double Down owner Diana Musa and Moore tried to respond with compassion. Those who entered the shop and appeared to be in need were offered food or clothing. Then, the situation took a nauseating turn.
A few months ago, Moore and Musa were showing up to the store to find someone sleeping in the doorway. Regularly, they would find urine, feces, and vomit.
“It’s the feces that’s unbearable,” Musa said.
“We have to clean things that no human should be having to clean,” Moore added. “Bodily fluids of other people is just really disgusting. It makes you feel uneasy.”
Now, every night before they leave the shop, staffers dump tubs of water in the doorway in an effort to stop people from sleeping there and leaving behind excrement.
“So far, it’s been working,” Musa said. “Knock on wood.”
Double Down isn’t the first business to think creatively about tackling the homelessness and drugs crises. It wasn’t too long ago that steel planters began popping up all over the city, installed by merchants and residents alike, to deter encampments — strategies decried by homeless advocates as hostile architecture. Other methods of safeguarding property have included blasting the “Star Wars” theme song and flashing bright lights.
The city chose to “very aggressively” crack down on homeless camps last year, launching sweeps in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
“The city fails to invest in adequate housing and services, and to cover for their inability to do that they scapegoat homeless people, which emboldens business owners to behave in cruel ways,” said Hazel Williams, an advocate for the city’s homeless population.
‘Violent situations’
Double Down opened as a space to hold community gatherings and sell skateboards, jewelry, and other goods from local artists. Musa knew the challenges of doing business in the area — especially in the wake of the pandemic — but did not think the issues would be so rife.
Staffers say they have no animosity toward the homeless but have to protect themselves.
“If we let someone come in to give them something, they’ll end up taking extra things or stealing from us or threatening us. There’s been violent situations here,” Moore said, adding that she was once swung at for calling out a shoplifter. “It’s the feeling of not being safe in your own neighborhood.”
Musa says she can’t afford a security guard. For now, all the store has is a doorbell camera. Musa has asked building management to install a gate and said a company stopped by a couple of weeks ago to take measurements.
Musa says she has called police twice to report broken glass and a few other times to report attempted break-ins and thefts. On the one occasion when officers did show up, they took three hours to arrive, she said. Police case numbers were not provided to The Standard.
“I do think that help is there,” Moore said. “A lot of people just don’t want to take it for their own personal reasons. I don’t know what the answer is, but it’s really negatively affecting hardworking small-business owners in San Francisco.”
Other business owners on the block say they understand Double Down’s tactics but warn of public backlash.
“Be careful,” said one store owner who talked to The Standard on the condition of anonymity. She brought up Collier Gwin, who made headlines and was arrested after hosing down a homeless person outside his North Beach art gallery, an act that was caught on camera in January 2023. The store owner said Gwin had been “canceled” for his actions and cautioned that the same could happen to those at Double Down.
Ryan Rinker, who works at No Shop, a vintage clothing store down the street, expressed similar concerns but is frustrated at the deteriorating state of the neighborhood.
“It’s like the Mission is turning into the Tenderloin, and nobody’s doing anything about it,” Rinker said.
Rinker doesn’t believe there’s anything unethical about Double Down’s actions. Walter Caldwell, a patron in the area who was formerly homeless, agrees.
“People make a mess,” Caldwell said. “They piss; they drink beers. They are hard to get out of the way when they are just laying there. If [the shop wants] to do it, it’s their business. No pun intended.”
Jackie Fielder, the newly elected supervisor for District 9, which encompasses the Mission, has met with the mayor, police captains, and other city officials to discuss how stores can receive adequate resources to protect themselves against situations related to deteriorating street conditions.
“Public safety, homelessness, and clean streets — which are issues not isolated to Valencia Street — are priorities for my office,” Fielder said.
Rafael Mandelman, president of the Board of Supervisors, has been critical of the city and state’s response to anti-social behavior stemming from those in mental health crises.
“My perception is these business owners are left to be, like, their own security, social worker, nurse,” Mandelman said. “It seems to be our normal, even though it is definitely not normal.”
Meanwhile, Musa, believing she had solved the problem outside her store, chose not to flood the entrance one night last week. Arriving at the shop the next morning, she had to ask someone sleeping in front to move.
“I thought maybe we didn’t have to do it anymore,” Musa said. “But no.”