A coffee shop in San Francisco’s Mission Bay hasn’t even opened yet, but has suffered at least two burglaries in a 24-hour period.
However, the owners say this won’t stop them from opening their business and hope their plan will help drive out some of the crime.
Owners of Silicon Valley Coffee got a taste of how companies are grappling with crime in San Francisco. On Sunday, Matt Baker and Vance Bjorn came in to work on their new store, but ended up finding two people on their property with needles scattered everywhere.
The owners called the police, officers spoke with the suspects but made no arrests.
“A little disappointed, a little shocked,” Baker told CBS News Bay Area. “We went home and came back the next morning to find that we had been robbed and everything we had there was gone. Including, ironically, our brand new security system.”
The incident may have deterred other entrepreneurs, but not these two.
“We want to work with the community, with local representation and work with them to find solutions so that other businesses don’t have to go through this,” he said. “We put a lot on the line here to redesign this space and that was a big setback for us.”
When Baker and Bjorn say they have a lot at stake, they mean it. They’re putting in their money to open this 4th Street location, knowing they’ll have to close if developers decide to break ground on a high-rise complex with about a thousand rental units. This may be a temporary location for Silicon Valley Coffee, but it’s a project the owners couldn’t say no to.
“This is an incredible opportunity,” Baker said. “It’s not every day that an entire coffee shop, restaurant or gigantic patio in a prime location just lands on your feet and they ask you: can you help make it better.”
So not only do they want to see their business grow, they also hope that their business will revitalize the area.
“We really think the best way to solve these problems is to bring this corner back to life,” Bjorn told CBS News Bay Area.
The Creamery’s old location isn’t the only part getting a facelift. These signs indicating store closures will disappear, the area will be cleaned up, and lighting will be installed to make this corner of 4th and Townsend more inviting. Baker and Bjorn are determined to make a difference one cup at a time.
“Coffee is about community,” Bjorn said. “Historically, coffee shops have brought people together and this neighborhood needs to be brought together.”
