SF Supervisor Wants to Punish Grocery Stores Who Get Tired of Being Robbed
San Francisco Supervisor Bilal Mahmood has proposed a new city ordinance that would punish grocery stores for closing and leaving the site vacant. The proposal comes after Safeway closed one of its stores in the Fillmore District due to rampant theft and safety concerns. The ordinance aims to establish a fund to subsidize grocery stores and levy a tax on vacant supermarkets to pressure grocers to lease to new operators or reopen.
- ▪Safeway closed its store in the Fillmore District due to ongoing concerns about associate and customer safety, as well as persistent issues with theft.
- ▪The store was estimated to lose roughly $7,000 a day to shoplifters, with commonly stolen items including cooking oil, meat, and liquor.
- ▪Supervisor Mahmood's proposal would establish a fund to subsidize grocery stores and levy a tax on vacant supermarkets to pressure grocers to lease to new operators or reopen.
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SF Supervisor Wants to Punish Grocery Stores Who Get Tired of Being Robbed John Sexton 8:00 PM | July 16, 2026 This story is so crazy that I think it could only happen in San Francisco. Way back in July 2023, the SF Standard was pointing out that the situation at many Safeway grocery stores in San Francisco was not sustainable because of rampant theft. Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display("div-gpt-300x250_4"); //googletag.pubads().refresh([gptAdSlot["div-gpt-300x250_4"]]) }); A San Francisco Safeway with new receipt-scanning security gates continues to see high rates of daily theft despite the increased shoplifting measures, staff say.“I’d say 60 to 100 [thefts] on my shift alone,” said a security guard at the 3350 Mission St.
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