In a coup for the anti-formula-retail contingent and Valencia merchants, Jack Spade has backed out of trying to move into the former Adobe Books location on 16th Street, bowing to neighborhood protests. The final straw was a ruling by the Board of Appeals on Wednesday night to rehear the appeal of protesters in December, at which point the Jack Spade folks said, "We're done."
Jack Spade CEO Bill McComb issued a statement yesterday to the SF Bay Guardian saying, "[We're] not going to war with the neighbors. We like those people and their neighborhood and we are not fighting the issue. There are many a fine location for Jack Spade. Peace to the city!"
This decision came just as Mission district gadfly Chicken John was preparing a masturbatory protest that would have involved multiple men jacking off onto 16th Street in front of the proposed location. And this also comes less than a month after the New Yorker picked up on the story, given how fascinating San Francisco's allergy to chain stores is to the rest of the country.
We should also note that this situation echoes the previous one involving American Apparel getting run out of the Mission, and the decision earlier this year by the Planning Commission to keep Chipotle out of the Castro.
So, go activism! While we at SFist didn't have a strong position on this one, no one really wants to see 16th and Valencia start to look like the Mall of America, so it's nice to see S.F.'s anti-corporate spirit still alive and well and making a difference.
[SFBG]
