Lee's Deli permanently closes all locations after 40 years in SF
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.พ. 2024
- Twelve out of 16 Lee's Deli locations were in San Francisco's Financial district just a few years ago, and the final two restaurants just closed for good. Owner Lee Quan points to inflation, the multiple minimum wage hikes in recent years and a lack of support from city and state leaders since the pandemic. abc7ne.ws/3UUXlL1
#sanfrancisco #closure #business #smallbusiness #abc7news
Yeah shopping patterns have changed Breed. Its called people not wanting to get robbed or having to step over a pile of crap.
meh, your individual risk in sf was the same in 2023 as it would of been in 2019
@@tofuyam7361 I take it you don't get down to market or embarcadero more than once every 6 years. It's changed drastically in the time frame you listed.
@@tofuyam7361Not even close.
@tofuyam7361
I drive truck for a living and has been delivering to grocery stores in San Fran since the early 90's....
the different is like day and night..
@@user-hs7tg3wp2pNah, the percentage of black people is low in SF itself (as opposed to Oakland/Berkeley/Richmond). This was all about white liberal voters, Hispanic voters, and Asian voters who all vote Democrat for different reasons.
Useless mayor and council are 100% responsible.
Don't forget about the voters who put them in office.
@@rholmst The votes are also being rigged so unless they stop that corrupt system, there will be no change.
Ya, lol. Completely negate the people who voted for this circus to happen in the first place and everyone else who allows it to continue.
Vote Lol man they all serve the same donor class. Please disabuse yourselves of this BS red/blue apocalypse you all imagine yourselves in
Mofos just out here sloganeering lol
@@omniamericana2172 naw damn that. At the local level, this is all voters fault. Thry literally voted for the crime they have. They voted for govt and policies they have. They voted for the loss of business. They voted for illegal immigrants. Local politics does require a vote.
Covid? Covid was like 2 years ago. This Mayor is full of it.
They always put the blame on everyone else when it's clear so much can be done and very quickly. They need to end no punishment for the less than nine hundred dollars theft problem they have going on for starters and go heavier on longer term punishments.
Covid was 4 years ago.
It’s never their fault. It’s either Covid or the orange man’s fault.
Your face was 2 years ago
The owner was the one who brought up COVID as a big contributing factor. He was getting no customers coming in during the period. Also neither local officials or the POTUS at the time did anything to help small business help recover.
Mayor Breed at yet another party says she's taking care of it. 😂
Drink up. its almost over London. Voting you OUT!
lmao. Yep, another one of her general, rehearsed responses/speeches typical of every politician
Anyone remember when Mayor Breed went to see a private concert, Tony! Toni! Toné!, during the pandemic shutdown? And Governor Gavin Newsom went the French Laundry ($1200 per plate) during the lockdown? It's really great for these people to be above the rules - but more importantly, their actions show that the shutdown was never really necessary. But hey, it worked to get Trump out of office.
Breeedinf
Lmao so true
SF is rotting from the inside out.
absolutely true, and what a shame it is. Such a beautiful city at one time.
People open businesses to make money. Period. If it’s not profitable , you leave. The End.
you gotta have the right business model in calif. Think bread making and cheap labor
That's not what the mayor of Chicago says, you should keep your business open come hell or high water. Of course he has no idea how to run a business, and that affects people of all skin colors.
“still one thing more, fellow citizens. a wise & frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, & shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. this is the sum of good government; & this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities.”-Thomas Jefferson March 4,1801
@@gregh7457 yeah - but isnt there an odd exception to the new minimum per hour wage for bread sellers there
It seems like businesses in SF are closing on a weekly basic. Tax revenue and jobs will be lost. Mayor and police chief need to share the responsibility of the decline.
It's not the PD Chief, it's the policies, the politicians and the SF judges.
@@chuckdawitits the pd chief too. u must not havin listening the things he said. and that fool need to show them mugshots again
The judges.
The voters are 100% responsible for everything that is happening in that $hithole.
The buck stops at the Mayor.
It's heart warming to see the voters rewarded.
NOW they’ll save MILLION$!!!!!!
I Love It.
Oh shut the hell up
Honestly you’re not even from here so why are you responding. Lees deli was the garbage you and your family eats. When I used to work in downtown, I walked by it everyday and it was complete ass and looked like ass 🤭 if you know nothing, pls say so
The voters deserve everything they voted for in these clueless and incompetent "leaders".
Excuse after excuse after excuse with Zero significant results!
I disagree. The voters are getting the results that we told them they would get. I love seeing that $hithole self-implode. However, the voters are smart enough to figure out that they caused all of this by who/what they voted for.
Is London Breed a real name??
Lee's has lines out the door during lunch time in the 90s. Lee himself worked cash registers and did the heavy lifting. A true entrepreneur who lead by example. You will be missed brother!
A lot of the offices in downtown SF are tech companies now which provide lunch? Do you think this deli can compete with free food at work?
That food was so nasty? Lmao
What infuriates me is all these politicians, law makers, legistators still get to keep their pay and pensions after literally destroying the city....makes absolutely no sense in the private sector. The system is really broken here.
The People are getting what they voted for.................................................................
What do you think is the solution? A lot of the offices in downtown SF are tech companies which provide lunch? Do you think this deli can compete with free food at work?
@@jaad9848Somehow it magically did for 40 years...? Not like the Tech companies just moved in. It's also only a handful of the bigger companies that do that. There are hundreds more smaller companies that don't provide food for their employees.
You keep voting democrat
they should be called pro crime socialists
This is true, but don't forget that many a corporate executive has floated away on a golden parachute after making numerous bad choices which ran the business into the ground and their employees and investors to financial ruin. The last years of Sears, Roebuck & Co. provide a good example of this.
Newsoms California dreaming coming to pass
Whatever you do people, don't vote him in as president, he's the worst!
California Dreaming??? How about "CaliFUKya Nightmare" being more appropriate.
Revitalization? That’s hilarious. Stores are closing nine are opening. Someone should teach Breed the meaning of the word.
SF praises crime and homelessness and disdains work and progress. Run as fast as you can.
I lived in San Francisco for several years and went to Lee's Deli on Sansome as I used to work for a life insurance company next door. It wasn't the best food, but decent and cheap; I'm so sorry to see it go. Unfortunately, a lot of small businesses are closing all over the country, especially hitting hard in California. It's almost as if the government is pushing everyone out.
Businesses can't open fast enough here in Florida.
You personify America’s weakness. The way your comment is so par for the course. Squares don’t get it.
@@inboxnews florida is a suburban sprawl, there is nothing to do except waste your money at the nail shop dreaming of looking pretty for your non-event
Remember, you all didn't want to believe a word that Biden would initiate a Great Reset where they destroy the middle class by ruining the economy. Well, that's what has been going on for three years. Enjoy it. You could have done something about it three years ago...
@@tofuyam7361 LOL. It's clear you've never been here.
London Breed's salary is $357,000/year
London Breed was elected mayor before the pandemic
SF went from a popular destination spot to Gotham City during her tenure.
She gets that salary & anything else she can steal...
Politicians won’t go hungry though :)
What’s your point?
Breed looks all of 235lbs. I guess she can take Greenlaw’s spot as 49er linebacker.
lmao@@funkychicken2119
I moved away from San Francisco in 2014 but one of my favorite memories of lunch times on warm spring days was getting takeout from Lee's with my coworkers and sitting downty people watching.
Thank you for the memories to all employees of Lee's.
Most cities in the US, especially on the west coast, are going through this but this is incredibly sad.
It’s only sad if you’re rooting for the government. I root against the government
@@LikeLikeLikeLikeLiyou sound ignorant and bitter like a child .
SF politics have done this to themselves as they prioritize things for criminals and homeless for many years. This left the working class folks being victims on many levels. I hope things turn for the better.
Blue is no way to live my friend.
@@inboxnews and that's why they called it the Blues.
Working folks are the problem: you’re sheep
@@LikeLikeLikeLikeLi And you're on crack.
Call it what it is, failed liberal ideology forced upon all of us.
Breed is to blame for everything closing in SF
Facts
She was elected by SF voters….
The greatest DO NOTHING mayor in the history of San Francisco!!! 👍
Blame Trump. He declared the pandemic emergency.
how can middle schoolers become mayors in the US?
It's sad, but Cali is getting what it voted for! This is just the beginning. The real pain is yet to come. 😂
No one calls it Cali and no one says Frisco...go b
@@JamesFaye-lt4dv we all call it cali... doesn't change the facts, Cali is done.. self destruction is near complete.
Pandemic and $20 dollar minimum wage did not help
And crime
You just said that 20$ minimum wage is too much. I want you to go to your room and think about what you just done did Eric.
Minimum wage has remained stagnant since the 70s and Reagan's devastating economic changes. In order to achieve the standard of living of a middle class family in the 1970s people would have to be earning over $25/hr nationally... which would, of course, lead to rampant inflation ect ect ect.
If we repealed all of the tax loopholes granted to corporations and the rich to pre-Reagan era things would begin to balance out, but it would take another three decades and probably lead to a global recession as the rich tried everything on the planet to hide their money away from the US or any country with appropriate tax weight on the wealth.
Criminals everywhere.
If you donated to Newsom it doesn’t apply to you
I remember I once work at Lee deli. 25 plus year ago. I can say HE WAS A WONDERFUL MAN LEE Q IS AND HIS WIFE AND FAMILY.
SF needs a new mayor with new and smart ideas.
SF would have to get new voters in order for that to happen. So the next mayor will be the same brand as the last several.
@@MR-xc3sw If SF were willing to elect Frank Jordan as Mayor 30 years ago to clean up the crimes and homeless mess, then they can do it once again. SF needs to get a new DA as well. Someone who is willing to do the DA's job of actually putting the criminals in jail.
@@marthaphuca8094 that was 30 years ago. Far too many brains have been washed since then. Liberalism is a mental illness and those inflicted can not , can not identify reality from imagination. This can not be fixed. I spent a lot of time all throughout California 30 years ago and I loved it. However large population centers are no longer safe or sustainable.
No you just need more residents with common sense. SF is the Loon Capital of the World!
it don't matter if they put a New Mayor in SF if the gonna Vote Blue
its the Same Song All over again, when ever they Vote Blue, San Francisco is gonna be a Homeless Paradise
Free Drugs Free Money and Free Camping Tent
Yeah, and that Mayor still gets their BIG PAY.
She is the biggest DO NOTHING MAYOR in the history of San Francisco!!!!!! 👍
...and misses no meals.
And got a raise too.
Yea!! And yet there’s still rampant homelessness in San Francisco! Isn’t it great! You’d think elected officials would take a slight pay cut to help their constituents out but no. Sorry. They all need raises actually
Notice how she smiles ?🤨
when so many businesses are closing it's a clear sign that the city is dying, however some people still refuse to see reality for varying reasons but this is mostly political, they are afraid to admit that they supported wrong people and policies that resulted in this mess that put the city in this dire situation
CA voters double down on stupid
We will miss Lee’s but the owner is truly a jewel of a human being with faith and family as his saving grace.
Oakland is even worse and with the baseball team leaving, the city issues were covered up and all the blame put on the owner. People deny the results of their own voting decisions.
And their football team. Nobody wants to be there
And those voters will for democrats in the next election too. And they will be in a worst situation next year.
The "mayor": blame something else, recite one or two talking points no one would disagree with, lay out nebulous plan, claim you are working on said plan. Smile.
She's got nice dental implants to show when she smiles. I wish I could afford those.
and rinse and repeat////
working in downtown SF as a construction worker you could rely on LEE's for being open a bog selection of food, a good amount of food at a good price and most notably for a construction worker with limited time they where FAST!!! which was key, so sorry that this happened to you and your business
SF has no one to blame except themselves
They deserve who they vote for.
Mostly true, but not 100% true. A lot of the radical left voting was done by tech bros that no longer live in SF since the pandemic and people leaving CA.
okay so maybe Republicans have a chance now? @@RajDeelish
@@jwblue575I certainly hope so
"Reduce Taxes and Fees" in San Francisco? They should recall this Mayor immediately.
Breed yapping about her city going down in a financial sense is wild
London Bridge is way out of her depth on what is the problems and how to solve this crisis in SF.
It is a must to raise the minimum requirements to run for office. A PhD degree and passing grade on a IQ test.
Come on Man, you didn’t like her semi rap?
But she is a woman and descendant of slaves so beyond criticism.
No she's not, she is a BLM democrat which is exactly why she stays in office.
Giving "London Bridge is falling down" a new meaning in SF.
I worked downtown SF for over 20 years. Lee's fed me breakfast, lunch and dinner on a regular basis.
They will be missed! 🙏
how much money could be saved and invested over 20 years preparing food at home.
@@UncleDavesKitchen I'm retired. It's ok. 🙏💯
Lee needs to come to Tampa, FL we’re more business friendly, we have foot traffic, and we need some decent dim sum!
I loved going here when I worked in the financial district for many years. This place got me through two colleges. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I was born and raised in SF and always go into Lee In the morning when i was commutting to SF for Middle School back in 2002-04 I usually get Dim Sum at 7 AM everyday. This blows but thank you for great business
All 40 of them? - Your governor is much more effective than I had ever imagined - wow! The good news is - I hear the French Laundry is still open.
Shopping in downtown San Francisco can be fun. Walking while trying not to step in human excrement, dodging muggers, trying to find a business that’s actually open, and paying exorbitant prices, can all be a fun activity if you just look at it in the right way.
Damn I used to go to Lee’s to get hot steamed buns when I worked in the FiDi, it was one of the reasonably priced establishments. Sad to hear the city didn’t really help a long time small business.
San Francisco, a city where it can turn into a complete 5hat hole but still people pay 4000/month for a doghouse.
Citizens of San Francisco City and County keep complaining about the lack of government support, high taxes and fees, increased crime rates and increased homelessness (Opps, residentially disadvantaged people) but they keep voting for the people with the same failing policies. Seems to me they are just a responsible for these issues as the politicians are.
And that is why I left 5 years ago after living there for 39 years
It's rigged...
Lee Quan is a legend and I thank him for all he’s done for the city.
The mayor should have realized her exact statement about being cost prohibitive to businesses about 20 years ago like everyone else in the world.
She wasn't the mayor 20 years ago.
@@RajDeelish no shit. That’s why she should have better plans in action before she ever was in place as mayor of San Francisco which she didn’t
1:34 typical mayor PR bs 🤦♂️
The city needs to vote for a better city council and mayor.
But will they? They have screwed it up time and time again.
Portland and Seattle are both doing excellent job of emulating San Francisco and Oakland.
Who would want to do business in a city where crime is legal?
Good for Lee's...
He knows California will not let you run a business there and he is leaving just like the rest. You can't run a business in Demarcate run Cities or States.
On top of the Covid shutdowns, you also have the state increasing minimum wage. If he operated 16 locations and let's say had 10 workers at each, increasing the minimum wage to $15 (from $10, let's say) would cost him an additional $20,000 a week, if each worker only worked 25 hours a week. That's an additional $1.04 million a year in wages. In April, it rises to $20 an hour, which is another $20,000 a week/$1.04 million a year. That's not total payroll. That's just additional payroll. That means in just a few years, he has to take on an additional $40,000 a week in payroll, while still having to pay his own bills: rent, utilities, food purchases, taxes, insurance, etc. Is there any left for profit?
It's no wonder that businesses have simply decided it's easier to shut the doors and walk away. Now, all of those workers will have no job, and the federal, state, county and city will receive ZERO revenue in various taxes, plus 16 empty store fronts, which only adds to already abandoned areas. Democrats always hurt the people they said they claim to want to help.
Congratulations to the politicians of California,job well done
Wow I used to go there for lunch at least once a week.. how times have changed
ALL BY DESIGN
I grew up in the Bay Area. To imagine downtown SF empty would have been impossible, still hard. To see Embarcadero Center with no people after the Springsteen and concert heyday. We're about to start losing major cities, can you believe it? Meanwhile $6K to rent a studio, this will not hold
Change the way you VOTE 🎈🎈🎈
Blockchain or in person only🇺🇸
The only thing missing are the tumbleweeds that will inevitably start rolling down the street.
Hows that Salesforce park and station doing? I havent been there in yrs
The length of the shutdown was driven by political and social engineering motives. The general population was accessing never-before available information, about virus and disease to economic and government operations. In a very real sense, the pandemic was a powerful tool in reigning back the information grid, to allow censorship, and to manipulate. But the side effects and long term damage that would result were vastly underestimated. People were laid off, homeless grew exponentially, drug use went through the roof, fentanyl was introduced and became the real pandemic. Businesses collapsed, once safe neighborhoods became dangerous, and retraction of society's good values became prevalent. Who drove the initial strategy of control-through-panic? What organizations profited? This small chain of successful restaurants is one of the hundreds of casualties. Individual loss is incalculable. And the Doom Loop? We haven''t gotten close to the bottom yet.
Fentanyl was a problem long before Covid.
But they got Biden, so great. right?
Dang shame make Breed’s behind leave office!
Its called people not wanting to get robbed or having to step over a pile of crap.
I was in Miami this week and didn’t see a single business closed. I stayed in Brickell, the mall was packed everyday. It’s funny how shopping habits didn’t change there. Might be because they have actually leadership in office. Just a thought 💭
That’s gotta be tough. The guy is obviously a nice man who loves his business. It’s a shame what the pandemic has done to so many hardworking people. I hope he recovers.
It isn’t the pandemic it is the disease of liberalism.
Did 'the pandemic' do this to Miami?
There are way better deli's in the city, but its so sad to hear almost on a daily basis, that so many businesses are closing up or leaving the city. Same thing is happening in Oakland.
Oakland is completely understandable. The crime there is insane.
@@inboxnews well I was born and raised in the City, but left years ago. I went back for a visit in 2015, and didn't even recognize the place. I just went to the many favorite restaurants I use to eat at, but spent most of my time in the wine country, and down at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. I'm sure the city is even worse now in 2024 than on my last visit in 2015. And although Oakland was always a tough place, it's much worse now.
Sad that’s game over for another SF institution.
Last week I visited and spoke with the owner of another SF institution restaurant may close shop when her lease is up next year for the same reasons.
This is because workers are going remote, and downtown is almost entirely commercial, with businesses like this completely dependent on 9-5 workers in a world where that isn't the norm anymore
The fix, more than anything, is re-zoning downtown to be mixed-use, aka commercial and residential, so that there are people around 24/7, instead of a huge 9-5 population
That's always tough news to hear, especially for a place that's been around for such a significant amount of time. Lee's Deli must have been a staple in the SF community, offering comfort and a sense of home through its food for so many years. It's a reminder of how important local businesses are to the fabric of our communities. They offer more than just services; they provide spaces where memories are made, and connections are formed. Here's to hoping that the legacy of Lee's Deli lives on in the hearts of those who loved it, and that the community finds new ways to come together and support one another.
It’s an institution as ubiquitous as Starbucks in the Financial District. More of them there than McDs.
We had Covid in upstate NY and yet, businesses are up and running now. Almost back to normal. Why is SF having so much trouble?
Thousands of Workers are not coming to office buildings. Employers are permitting remote work in what is know as hybrid. As Lee’s Deli said, the workers who go back are there only 3 days per week. The SF Mayor may suck, the other postings are just noise; it’s like complaining that Black people are taking their Jobs (it’s not based on reality). In upstate NY, your normal is the pre-covid normal. In cities, workers are not returning to offices, and the commercial office building owners are in deep financial trouble, tricking down to small businesses like deli’s that rely on lots of foot traffic. It’s like sewing machines being replaced by sewing done by others overseas for $2/day; sewing isn’t obsolete, it’s that nobody makes their own clothing anymore like less people coming to cities. Mr. Lee says if he reopens, it’s would in where people LIVE, not where they work which is now mostly at home for SF tech and services heavy.
Damn nothing staying in Sf
I am a business owner, with other business owners as customers. We all agreed that the government was clueless over the coming effects of their long shutdowns. The government thought the economy and industry could be turned on and off light an electric light. This is what happens when people with no real-world experience run government.
Terribly sad. Always a good and economical place to eat.
It will never be the same 😢 The good old days are over 😢
I thought the 280 battery location was the one that was closing. which one was he talking about that is closing?
All of them.
Close it all, close it all, close it all
"Criminals Strong!" ...that's the motto of San Francisco's politicians.
As a fellow Californian who has never voted for progressive politicians or policies I say, you get what you pay for. Enjoy the fruits of your intelligence.
Mayor answered the question ending with a smile on the face (proud of herself).
That man is nearly 80…wow
City's Leadership Should be Change and Replace the Chief of Police 😢.
Used to get my big pastrami on a roll there for $2.50 in 2000. Then to Specialty’s stores for a cookie (closed in the pandemic).
A lot of the offices in downtown SF are tech companies which provide lunch? Do you think this deli can compete with free food at work?
We were in SF in 2022 and there were empty storefronts here and there, but now most of downtown is boarded up.
No surprise here 😢
It's not covid, it's the crumbling structure known as San Francisco.
Lee's Deli was like Starbucks in the Financial District.
From an outsider who is one of many that warned you Left Coast.
You get and deserve what you asked for.
This is heartbreaking. They offered the best breakfast and lunch options 😞
What a waste of property ? Bring in National guards and post in places of downtown SF .
Every major US city is rotting from the inside now, and blaming it on the pandemic is just flat out wrong.
There was one next to that Walgreens that closed on Monday but that one closed months ago. Luckily there was one more one block over.But i think that is the one in the picture. I remember one time I was getting food and a homeless guy tried to get in and the lady behind the register zipped by at an instant yelling NONONONONO and scaring away the homeless guy. Apparently, that McDonalds over there also closed (Front and Sacramento).
I grabbed a lot of quick lunches at various Lee's delis over a number of years. Cheap, quick and 'OK enough'... another SF 'thing', gone for good.
Should live it up to the owners to make the wage deal not the states.
Lmao 😂, the contrast of her at a party! 🎉
Is there anything left in SF?
Ross dress for less, and other cheap stores, homelessness, drugs, garbage, and filth. 🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
syringes and poop on the sidewalks
SF needs a 21st-century Harry Callahan to come in and straighten things out!
And include Macy's too to be fair. They both have "underperforming" as reasons duly approved by the mayor and NAACP.
Revitalization takes time? Sure. But when all trend lines point downward, it might be worth considering what you're doing wrong.
Why didn't Lee donate the food instead?
"all that food went into the garbage can" might be a hint from the universe. SF used to be the city that knows how, but now it is just the city of the greedy landlord, the greedy business owner, the greedy drug dealer, the greedy non profit, etc.
Man oh man, the mayor said a lot, but said “NOTHING”. So sorry to see businesses like this go under.
Until workers stop working from home, there’s no reason to open a restaurant in that area.
I used to work downtown. Now I work from home. So glad I don’t have to do that commute anymore. My company moved to a smaller office out in the sticks too, saving a ton of money. But those business that depended on our foot traffic will suffer. Sucks but change is tough. But to be fair this was already a thing before Covid. I worked in office 4 days a week. Other people I knew that worked around there their physical attendance was optional to the point they don’t even have a desk, they’d just have shared workstations and conference rooms. Times were changing before Covid but that just accelerated it making it too fast for those dependent on traffic to adjust.