On Thursday, Sept. 24, the San Francisco Planning Commission will consider a conditional‑use permit for Therapy Stores, a chain of gift‑shops that qualifies as a formula retail business under city rules. The proposed outpost would occupy the former eyeglass store at 32 Clement St., near Second Avenue, in the Mission’s high‑traffic Clement Street corridor.
Local merchants push back
Members of the Clement Street Merchants Association argue the street already hosts a vibrant mix of independent retailers – from Jellycat plush toys to handmade baby onesies and locally‑sourced magnets. They have posted flyers reading “No formula retail on Clement Street” in windows from Tenth Avenue to Arguello Boulevard and have gathered more than 300 signatures on a Change.org petition urging the commission to deny the application.
Association president Chris Squire said the neighborhood does not need another gift‑shop chain. “There’s a lot that fills that niche in the neighborhood,” he said, adding that the group would welcome a chain pharmacy reopening the long‑vacant Walgreens but not a new chain gift store.
Chain’s background and city requirements
Therapy Stores was founded 32 years ago by Jing Chen, who now runs ten locations across the Bay Area. Under San Francisco’s definition, a chain is any business with 11 or more locations worldwide, so Therapy Stores falls just below the threshold. Nevertheless, the city requires a special permit for any formula retail chain seeking to open in a neighborhood corridor that is designated to protect independently‑owned businesses.
Planning staff compiled an 83‑page report recommending approval of the permit. The report notes that Chen purchased the 32 Clement St. building in December 2025 for nearly $2 million and registered her business there that month.
Regulatory history and recent compliance steps
In April, the planning department issued a notice of three code violations for the property, including a zoning mismatch: the storefront had previously been classified as a medical office rather than a retail space. The notice required Chen to obtain a conditional‑use authorization to convert the space to a formula retail outpost. Chen filed the required application in May.
Chen acknowledges the misstep. In a statement to Mission Local she said, “I made a mistake and moved too quickly to open the store without understanding the required approval process. I understand why that upset people and have since followed planning department requirements.” She added that her goal is to bring more jobs and quality goods to Clement Street and to be a good neighbor.
Community concerns and precedent
Local shop owner Alissa Anderson, who runs Foggy Notion at 124 Clement St., said merchants only learned of Therapy Stores’ size after Mission Local reported the chain’s eleventh location in the Inner Sunset, which later closed, bringing the total back to ten. Anderson and other merchants worry that a chain with bulk‑buying power could undercut independent gift shops on price.
Chen’s experience with chain expansion is not new. In 2020 she secured a permit for a similar store in Placerville, California after facing local resistance over concerns that bulk purchasing would harm existing gift shops. That location has since shuttered.
What’s at stake
The commission’s decision will test how San Francisco balances its commitment to protecting small, family‑run businesses with the desire to encourage new job creation and investment in the Mission. If approved, Therapy Stores would become the first formula retail chain on Clement Street, setting a precedent for future applications.
Residents and merchants are encouraged to submit comments to planner Manushi Mathur, the case’s assigned planner, before the Thursday hearing.
Original reporting: Mission Local — read the source article.
