Were Chain Stores Once Banned in San Francisco?

Bay Curious

KQED

Places & Travel, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

San Francisco is known for its distinct neighborhoods, each with its own shopping street, full of local businesses. Listener Sarah Soule grew up in the city and remembers hearing that San Francisco didn't allow big box stores or chains to open within city limits. But recently she's seen more chains and wonders if that was true. We trace the history of San Francisco's regulation of chain stores and the effect it has had on the city. Additional Resources: San Francisco's Love/Hate Relationship With Big Box Stores Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Scott Shafer. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Olivia Allen-Price, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Transgender kids have been in the headlines a lot recently, but they rarely get to tell their own stories.
0:06.6	Join us on the California Report magazine for a limited series called Love You for You.
0:12.3	We'll listen to trans and non-binary kids talk with the adults in their lives about what it means to thrive with love and support.
0:18.9	Thanks for letting me be who I am.
0:21.2	Thank you for letting me be your parent and for letting me love you.
0:25.5	From KQED, Find the California Report magazine wherever you get your podcasts.
0:32.9	From KQED.
0:36.2	Growing up in San Francisco, I've always loved how each neighborhood is distinct,
0:41.3	like little villages, each with their own shopping streets.
0:45.3	My family lived in the Richmond District, so we did our shopping on Clement.
0:52.3	On it, you can find everything from fresh caught fish.
0:55.5	So right now we have the chili rock, we have rocked and we have calamari, to produce,
1:00.5	hair salons, pastry shops.
1:03.0	Are you being in cash?
1:05.0	Restaurants, a bookstore, you name it.
1:07.0	2943.
1:09.0	By and large, local businesses, one of a kind in the neighborhood.
1:12.6	Welcome to Green Apple.
1:14.6	And most neighborhoods in San Francisco have a street like this.
1:17.6	It's part of what makes San Francisco feel unique.
1:21.6	My name is Sarah Sol.
1:23.6	I live in San Francisco, and I've grown up here my whole life.
	...

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