On Sept. 23, 2026, a flier in the window of Foggy Notion at 124 Clement St. read "No formula retail on Clement Street." Mission Local reported that the same flier hung in store windows from 10th Avenue to Arguello Boulevard, and that a petition against a proposed gift shop a block away had drawn more than 300 signatures.
The proposal was a Therapy Stores location at 32 Clement St., near Second Avenue. The planning commission heard it the next day. Making the case against it, Clement's merchants ended up listing, item by item, what the Inner Richmond already sells within a few blocks. Several of the shops whose owners spoke were also on the participant list for last December's holiday stroll, which the merchant association organizes.
A Hearing That Doubled as a Store Directory
At the Sept. 24 hearing, Tantrum owner Amanda Weld described the gift trade already on the corridor in one sentence, as Mission Local reported:
"How does allowing a formula retail chain that carries the exact same stuffies, onesies, S.F. merch, hats, hair clips, candles, cards, socks and jewelry lines as several other existing businesses within the same three blocks fill a need?"
Weld also told the commission she was "not seeking protection from fair competition," SFGATE reported. Chris Squire, president of the Clement Street Merchants Association, gave Mission Local the short version: "There's a lot that fills that niche in the neighborhood."
Therapy owner Jing Chen started the business 32 years ago with a single storefront in the Mission. She described her position plainly to the commission. "We can either have that storefront empty for another two years, or they can welcome me," she said, according to SFGATE. Five people spoke for her and five merchants spoke against. The commission voted unanimously to approve, and one commissioner said he saw an 11th location of a local chain as different from an outpost of a national retailer. The association told Mission Local it would consider appealing to the Board of Supervisors.
Under 5% Vacancy, With a Few Exceptions in Plain Sight
Squire told the San Francisco Chronicle that Clement Street's vacancy rate is less than 5%, and that "we don't have a problem of businesses not wanting to come to Clement Street." Against that figure, the empty doors are easy to count:
- 32 Clement St. has been vacant since 2024, according to city planner Sylvia Jimenez. It was last zoned as a medical office because it had been an eyeglass store.
- The former Walgreens has been vacant for a long time, and Squire said the association would be glad to see a chain pharmacy reopen there.
- The postal store at 837 Clement St. closed after its last day on June 18, ending a 17-year run.
- Chococo at 455 Clement St. had a "Store closing" sign in its window on Oct. 1, and the furniture and ceramics shop around the corner at 304 Sixth Ave. had handwritten clearance signs. Between them, Mission Local noted, Aroma Tea Shop at 302 Sixth Ave. "seems here to stay."
The gaps are mostly pharmacy, postal and medical space, plus one clothing store. None of them is a gift shop, and that is why the merchants argued the gift niche was already full.
The Roster Behind the Holiday Stroll
The association's own description calls it "a group of merchant volunteers." It lists a Sunday farmers market, art walks, Halloween, Small Business Saturday // Kids Edition and Clementime, its holiday shopping stroll, among the things it organizes.
Last year's stroll was the 15th. It ran Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, from 5 to 9 p.m., from Arguello to Park Presidio, with sales, raffles, pop-ups and refreshments. The participating merchants on the 2025 Clementime page included Foggy Notion, The Future Past, Tantrum, Green Apple Books and park life. Three of those are shops whose owners spoke against the 32 Clement proposal in September.
| Shop | Address | What it carries | On the 2025 stroll list |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Apple Books | 506 Clement St., at Sixth Ave. | New and used books, in business since 1967 | Yes |
| Foggy Notion | 124 Clement St. | Gifts | Yes |
| Public Land | 201 Clement St., at Third Ave. | Plants, home goods, candles, art | Its space was formerly park life's second shop |
| The Future Past | Clement St., on the 32 Clement block | Vintage clothing and alterations | Yes |
| Tantrum | Clement St. | Children's toys and accessories | Yes |
Public Land came to the block through neighborhood relationships. Co-owner Austin McManus contacted his friend Jamie Alexander, owner of the nearby Parklife, who held the lease at 201 Clement St. as Parklife 2 and agreed to hand it over. Co-owner Mel Eligon told Mission Local that the Richmond "couldn't have been better to support this endeavor." She said the shop deliberately stocks less merchandise so that each piece gets its own space.
The association also organized the fall calendar. The third annual Clement Street Art Fair closed Clement between Sixth and Eighth avenues on Oct. 17 for art activations, live music and a bike fix-it station from Scenic Routes. The association co-hosted it with Stuart Schuffman for "Broke-Ass Stuart Day." On the Saturday before Halloween, participating Clement businesses handed out candy, and the farmers market held festivities on Nov. 1, all organized by the association, Mission Local reported.
Where the Turnover Is Happening
Clement's 2026 changes have come mostly in its dining rooms. The gift shops have stayed put.
Mai's Vietnamese at 316 Clement St. closed for good this fall after 34 years. A sign in the window from the couple who ran it read, "It has been a joy to serve you and be part of this neighborhood," Mission Local reported.
These opened this year, and one more is on the way:
- Clementina, 343 Clement St. Bettola, a 2025 stroll participant, rebranded and reopened on March 12 as a fully gluten-free trattoria from Gianluca Legrottaglie and Viviana Devoto.
- Rose Pizzeria, 1 Clement St. The Berkeley pizzeria opened its first San Francisco location at Arguello in late April, open daily 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to the Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon. Owner Gerard Gobel told the paper he and co-owner Alexis Rorabaugh "want to serve the Richmond neighborhood."
- Hologram, 2512 Clement St. A café and bistro at 26th Avenue from Eugene and Anneliese Kim, the team behind Snowbird Coffee and Malama Matcha. It soft-opened March 21 in a space that had been vacant for a long time.
- Taller Pepe, 2229 Clement St. Snail Bar's Steven Bravo and Carlos Camacho plan a Mexican wine bar in the Red's Tavern space, with an opening targeted for April 2027, The San Francisco Standard reported.
Restaurants on Clement are replacing restaurants, and Clementina carries a former stroll participant forward under a new name. The gift shops in the table above are the same ones that were there last December.
A December Loop From Arguello to Sixth
The farmers market at 244 Clement St. runs Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and closes three blocks of the street. Its remaining 2026 dates are Nov. 22 and 29 and Dec. 6, 13, 20 and 27. A Sunday route can follow the stores in address order:
- Start at Rose Pizzeria on the Arguello corner, at 1 Clement St.
- Walk west to Foggy Notion at 124 Clement St.
- Continue to Public Land at 201 Clement St., at Third Avenue.
- Pass through the market blocks around 244 Clement St.
- End at Green Apple Books at 506 Clement St. and Aroma Tea Shop around the corner at 302 Sixth Ave.
The association describes Clementime as its first-Thursday-in-December stroll. Its events page carries the current details. Green Apple's December Sip & Shop nights on Dec. 3, 8 and 15 are at its 9th Avenue store, which puts them on the same side of the park as the corridor in our Inner Sunset roundup. The full schedule is on Green Apple's December calendar.
The Lederer Team follows which corridors fill their empty storefronts and how quickly, from Clement Street to the rest of our San Francisco neighborhoods. If you'd like to know how the blocks around your home are changing, get in touch for a tailored home strategy.
