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San Francisco approves Therapy store on Clement Street over merchant opposition

San Francisco approves Therapy store on Clement Street over merchant opposition

Rule Changes San Francisco, CA local

A 10-store local gift shop chain clears a conditional-use permit on a corridor that restricts chains

Today: Planning commission approves permit

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

San Francisco's planning commission approved a Therapy Stores outpost at 32 Clement Street, defeating a merchant campaign that said the gift-shop chain triggers the city's formula retail rules. The vote grants a conditional-use permit for a storefront Jing Chen bought for nearly $2 million in December 2025.

The ruling tests a regulation that treats businesses with 11 or more locations as chains needing special permission. Therapy has 10 stores. The Clement Street Merchants Association says the line is arbitrary, and that a homegrown chain still squeezes the independent shops the law is meant to protect.

Why it matters

Clement Street just approved a store its merchants fought as a chain — the ruling tests whether San Francisco's formula retail protections still hold.

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Key Indicators

10
Current Therapy store count
One below the city's 11-store chain threshold.
300+
Petition signatures against the store
Change.org petition urging the planning commission to deny the permit.
$2M
Purchase price for 32 Clement St.
Jing Chen bought the building in December 2025.
3
Planning-code violations cited
Issued in April 2026, including a zoning mismatch for the storefront.

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People Involved

Jing Chen
Jing Chen
Founder and owner, Therapy Stores
Won conditional-use approval for the Clement Street store
 Chris Squire
Chris Squire
President, Clement Street Merchants Association
Led opposition to the Therapy store
AA
Alissa Anderson
Owner, Foggy Notion gift store
Opposed the Therapy store
MM
Manushi Mathur
City planner, San Francisco Planning Department
Case planner for the 32 Clement St. permit

Organizations Involved

Therapy Stores
Therapy Stores
Retail gift shop chain
Won approval to expand to Clement Street

A woman-owned, AAPI-founded gift shop chain with about 10 Bay Area locations.
Clement Street Merchants Association
Clement Street Merchants Association
Neighborhood business group
Led opposition to the Therapy store

A merchants group representing shopkeepers along Clement Street in the Inner Richmond.
San Francisco Planning Commission
San Francisco Planning Commission
City commission
Approved the Therapy conditional-use permit

The city body that reviews conditional-use permits, including chain store approvals.

Timeline

January 1994 September 2026

9 events Latest: Today
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Planning commission approves permit

    Today Decision

    City grants Therapy's conditional-use authorization for 32 Clement St.

  2. Merchant petition tops 300 signatures

    Organizing

    'No formula retail on Clement Street' fliers hang in windows along the corridor.

  3. Chen posts Instagram statement

    Statement

    An 800-word post asks supporters to email the case planner and defends her record.

  4. City cites three planning violations

    Enforcement

    Violations at 32 Clement include a zoning mismatch: the storefront was a medical office.

  5. One Therapy location closes

    Closure

    The chain drops to 10 stores, below the city's 11-store threshold.

  6. Therapy opens Inner Sunset store

    Expansion

    The eleventh location opens at former Progress Hardware; Mission Local reports its size.

  7. Chen buys 32 Clement St.

    Acquisition

    Chen purchases the building for nearly $2 million and registers her business.

  8. Placerville approves Therapy after resistance

    Approval

    Placerville grants Chen a permit despite chain concerns; the store later closes.

  9. Therapy Stores founds in the Mission

    Founding

    Therapy opens its first shop on Valencia Street.

Scenarios

1

Therapy opens on Clement Street this year

Likely Resolves by End of 2026

Discussed by: Planning staff (83-page report) and the commission's approval vote

The permit holds through the 30-day appeal window, Therapy resolves the planning-code violations, and the store opens. Merchants lose the fight and refocus on other corridor issues.

2

Merchants appeal the approval to the Board of Supervisors

Possible Resolves by Oct 31, 2026

Discussed by: Clement Street Merchants Association, whose members have said Chen skirted city rules

Within 30 days of the commission decision, the association files an appeal arguing the permit was wrongly granted or the chain designation wrong. The appeal pauses the opening, and the board upholds, modifies, or reverses the decision.

3

Clement Street fight tightens formula retail rules

Unlikely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Small-business advocates and merchants who see the 11-store threshold as a loophole

The controversy pushes the Board of Supervisors to lower the chain threshold, closing what merchants call a gap. Any change would affect every expanding local chain, not just Therapy.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2020

Placerville conditional-use fight (2020)

Jing Chen sought a conditional-use permit in Placerville, California, to open a Therapy store. Locals resisted over concerns that a multi-location store could buy in bulk and undercut independent gift shops on price.

Then

The city approved the permit despite the resistance.

Now

The store has since closed.

Why this matters now

The same dynamic — a growing local chain facing hometown opposition over its size — repeats on Clement Street, now under San Francisco's formula retail rules.

2023–2026

Progress Hardware closure and replacement (2023–2026)

Progress Hardware at 724 Irving St. served the Inner Sunset from 1948 until a fire in 2023 forced it shut. It lost insurance, failed to reach a new lease, and faced tariff-driven restocking costs. Its owners confirmed in 2025 they would not reopen.

Then

Therapy moved into the space in March 2026, filling a vacancy residents hoped would return as a hardware store.

Now

The neighborhood service business was replaced by a gift shop.

Why this matters now

The hardware loss shows how service businesses disappear and get replaced by retail like Therapy, the shift merchants fear on Clement Street.

Mid-2000s

San Francisco formula retail restrictions (mid-2000s)

San Francisco's planning code restricted 'formula retail' — businesses with 11 or more locations — in neighborhood commercial districts. The rules require a conditional-use permit so the city can weigh a chain's effect on local character.

Then

The permit system put national chains under scrutiny while smaller local chains navigated the threshold.

Now

It created a case-by-case review process that now applies to homegrown brands like Therapy.

Why this matters now

Therapy sits at the edge of that 11-store threshold, and its approval shows how the rule reaches local chains, not just national brands.

Sources

(4)
+2
Mission Local Therapy Stores Mission Local Mission Local

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