‘Drug use has completely taken over my block’: Mr. Smith’s closes after 15 years in SF

Mr. Smith's quietly closed in San Francisco after 15 years in the Mid-Market neighborhood. Mr. Smith's quietly closed in San Francisco after 15 years in the Mid-Market neighborhood. Photo: Photo By Mr. Smith's On Yelp Photo: Photo By Mr. Smith's On Yelp Image 1 of / 45 Caption Close ‘Drug use has completely taken over my block’: Mr. Smith’s closes after 15 years in SF 1 / 45 Back to Gallery

Older businesses around the Bay Area have been swept with sudden closures in recent weeks, and now another San Francisco business joins that list. Mr. Smith’s, a Mid-Market nightclub and cocktail lounge, quietly closed its doors after 15 years.

Last month, Max Young, owner of Mr. Smith’s, wrote an email to Mayor London Breed and District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney to express his frustration over widespread drug use and dealings just outside his business.

The lack of action taken on this issue and other stressors ultimately led to the closure, according to Young.

“As of today I closed my business, Mr. Smith’s,” Young wrote in the email dated Aug. 31, according to the Examiner. “Rampant open-air drug dealing and drug use has completely taken over my block. My employees quit, my customers disappeared, no one wants to be on my block, including me. As a native San Franciscan it makes me sick to say that.”

ALSO: Three SF restaurants near Oracle Park suddenly close

In what appears to be sheer criticism of the city, Young continued his email by stating that throughout his tenure he has employed San Franciscans, supported local businesses and paid his taxes.

“I’ve done my job. You need to do yours,” Young wrote.

During a Monday Board of Supervisors Rules Committee hearing, Haney said that he had received many emails from residents and business owners who have asked him to address drug dealing issues in SF. The city might be a step closer to that after Haney secured $200,000 from the 2019 city budget process to fund a proposal that will create a street-level, drug dealing task force, the Examiner reported.

In an April hearing that Young attended, Haney shared that in 2018 there was a total of 259 people who died from drug overdoses in the city. Of those, 89 deaths were attributed to fentanyl overdoses in 2018, according to a report by the Chronicle's Lauren Hernández.

The structure will remain under Young's ownership, but it's unclear what will become of it in the future.

---

Susana Guerrero is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: Susana.Guerrero@sfgate.com | Twitter: @SusyGuerrero3