San Francisco's oldest toy store set to permanently close
Black Friday shoppers walk past the display window at Jeffrey’s Toys store in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, Nov. 23, 2018. (Photo By Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO - Another business closure hits San Francisco -- as the oldest toy store announced it is closing for good.
Jeffrey's Toys at Kearny Street between Post and Geary opened in 1938 and launched four stores in San Francisco in 1966, but a lawyer for the fourth-generation family business says the store is closing due to declining sales and crime in the area.
Jeffrey's Toys was reportedly the inspiration for Pixar's "Toy Story" movie. The store will remain open for the next couple of weeks. Items are being sold at 30 percent off.
Last December, Jeffrey's Toys said their store was struggling to stay afloat due to fewer office workers downtown, more competition from online shopping options, and with the city battling homelessness and crime as it seeps into retail areas.
"After 75 years of gratefully serving the San Francisco community, the store will be closing next month. The store has been struggling for a number of years, due to the perils and violence of the downtown environment, inflation, the decrease in consumer spending and the demise of retail across the world. The family is saddened it has come to this and we’ve explored all other options to try and keep the business going," said the store's lawyer, Ken Sterling, in a statement.
Charu Choudhary shops for holiday gifts with her daughter Aarya, 4, at Jeffreys Toys store in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, Nov. 23, 2018. (Photo By Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)