Celebrity chef Tyler Florence plans to fight crime in San Francisco by opening up two restaurants in the city’s Union Square.
Speaking with CBS News Bay Area, Florence said that people in the city “can’t live like this any longer,” citing the high levels of crime that have made it unsafe and unpleasant.
“I think people need to just look in the mirror every day and realize that we can’t live like this any longer, with the crime, car vandalizing, theft and robbery,” Florence. “I think on the other side of the coin is the positivity in the city.”
“We want this to be a cultural impact, make a big difference in the city of San Francisco, and really even from a citizen’s standpoint, lean in,” he added. “We can’t complain about it, we can’t point fingers. I think it’s everyone’s collective responsibility — pick a neighborhood.”
Florence expressed confidence that San Francisco can recover, especially as the city faces a crisis of stores shuddering due to ongoing crime. As noted by Fox News, those storefront vacancies “can ‘operate like a virus,’ as every empty storefront makes it more difficult for other downtown businesses to survive, a recent New York Times report concluded.”
“Gracias Madre, a popular vegan eatery in San Francisco’s Mission District, also closed its doors in late August after more than a decade due to the city’s deteriorating conditions,” noted Fox News.
Daniel Montes, spokesperson San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, told CBS News Bay Area that the city is “really excited to work with Tyler.”
“He has three successful restaurants in San Francisco already, so we want to recreate some of that magic and bring it here to Union Square,” the statement said.
Celebrity chef Tyler Florence plans 2 cafes in San Francisco Union Square as part city’s revitalization
“I want San Francisco to be the place I fell in love with when I moved here back in 2007… We’re going to make it happen,” @TylerFlorence said. https://t.co/ZHuWCBmh9T pic.twitter.com/nLagKOLAP8
— Betty Yu (@bett_yu) September 7, 2023
In July of this year, Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, claimed that downtown San Francisco will not be going back to its pre-pandemic state.
The coronavirus pandemic launched a revolution of stay-at-home work, forcing major metropolitan areas like downtown San Francisco to become havens for vacant office buildings. Per Fox Business:
The Associated Press reported that office vacancy rates in San Francisco were 24.8% in the first quarter, more than five times higher than pre-pandemic levels and well above the average rate of 18.5% for the nation’s top cities, according to CBRE, a commercial real estate services company.
For San Francisco, the three-year exile resulted in empty storefronts with large “going out of business” signs hanging from windows.
Popular shops like Uniqlo, Nordstrom Rack and Anthropologie have left, toiletries like shampoo and toothpaste are locked up at pharmacies, and places like Gucci get hit by armed robbers in broad daylight.
With a decrease in people commuting downtown, the local economy took a major hit, with businesses being forced to close due to a dwindling customer base. This forced parts of downtown San Francisco to relax its zoning rules for certain buildings to have mixed-use spaces.
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.