Business owners say San Francisco is 'getting worse' for restaurants amidst homeless crisis: report

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San Francisco business owners in the city's Little Saigon neighborhood are opposing a "drop-in health and resource center" that will provide health services for the homeless in the city's Tenderloin district as the homeless crisis continues to hurt local restaurants. 

Little Saigon is "one of the few commercial corridors in the Tenderloin, a neighborhood where nearly every block is impacted by homelessness, open drug use and mental illness," according to an article published Thursday from The San Francisco Chronicle. 

"In February, the San Francisco Community Health Clinic is expected to open a drop-in health and resource center at 645 Larkin St. — the former storefront of Turtle Tower, a longtime Vietnamese restaurant that shuttered last year. The city’s Department of Public Health has entered into a $1 million contract with the Community Health Clinic to provide health services to housed and unhoused Tenderloin residents," the paper reported. 

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"If I had my choice, I would say no," Pinyo Charoensuk, the owner of Lapats Thai Noodles Bar, told The Chronicle. "This neighborhood is already really bad. It’s not good for business."

"People love my food, but they prefer not to come to the Tenderloin," he continued. "They don’t feel safe walking around here. The city needs to make it safer and cleaner."

"Business is already very bad right now because of the street conditions," restaurant owner Tommy Huynh said. "I hope they would put it somewhere else."

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Little Saigon is "one of the few commercial corridors in the Tenderloin, a neighborhood where nearly every block is impacted by homelessness, open drug use and mental illness," according to an article published Thursday from The San Francisco Chronicle.  (Flight Risk for Fox News Digital)

Huynh was excited about his business prospects in Little Saigon before he learned how dangerous the neighborhood was, and how unpopular it was with families due to open drug use and homelessness. 

"I saw really good potential in this neighborhood," Huynh said. "Not anymore. Parents don’t want to bring the kids around here."

Eileen Loughran, director of the public health department’s office of overdose prevention, told the Chronicle that city officials weren't involved in choosing the location but expressed optimism about the potential effect the health center will have on the neighborhood.  

"I know from working very closely with the Community Health Center that they are a good neighbor," Loughran said. "… Not only will they bring resources into the community, they’ll also be spending money in the community and I think that’s important to note."

Little Saigon isn't the only part of San Francisco that is struggling amidst a drug abuse, vandalism and crime crisis.

"The Valencia Merchants Association conducted a survey of business activity, with business owners reporting year-over-year dips as severe as 50%" on Valencia Street in San Francisco, according to a San Francisco Chronicle article from November. 

"Laurie Thomas, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, San Francisco’s restaurant industry trade group, said members on Valencia have disclosed declines between 30% and 50% compared to summer 2022," the outlet wrote. 

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San Francisco Mayor London Breed's office and the San Francisco Community Health Clinic did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.