Even though their signature mascot, Ronald McDonald, and fellow character The Hamburgler, wear prison-inspired costumes, the company has been able to survive generations of crime and rioting. Oftentimes the only restaurant in economically deprived towns and ghettos of America, the Golden Arches has been a sign of hope and solved hunger for decades.
Now the San Francisco, CA downtown neighborhood along Front Street is proving too crime-riddled to Scott Rodrick of Rodrick Management Group. Speaking with Fox News on November 5th, he outlined why they chose to close their doors.
“Office building vacancies, the environmental atmosphere of downtown sidewalks, and a tepid return by tourists and conventioneers all drove the decision. The economics of running a franchised restaurant in San Francisco continue to be a challenge, particularly in a downtown that is impacted by high office building vacancy rates and visitor trends that have not recovered since the pandemic. My Front Street location, without the benefit of parking and a drive-through, amplified the challenge.”
While Rodrick’s other locations are improving, this one is done for. The businesses he depended on for foot traffic refused to return past COVID. With many of their employees preferring to work from home, it was easier, cheaper, and most importantly safer to ask them to stay home. A decision based on safety all around, businesses like Rodrick’s have been failing all over. Many of those that could open during or after the pandemic have been forced to close due to brazen theft.
In May the city launched a campaign in an attempt to attract businesses as well as the fabled tourists back to the area. They claimed the stories of crime, homelessness, and crumbling infrastructure are overblown and that they are back to normal.
The fact of the matter is, SF has been getting worse since the hippies took it over in the 60s, and never recovered, no matter how many diversity programs the liberals drag through there.
