A battle over chain stores and their impact on neighborhood character has been playing out for months on Clement Street in San Francisco’s Inner Richmond, one of the city’s most beloved and vibrant retail corridors.
On one side is local gift store owner Jing Chen, a Bernal Heights resident who arrived in San Francisco from Guangzhou, China, at age 18 and worked at a Japantown Burger King before scraping together enough money to open a closet-sized store in the Mission. She has since expanded her Therapy Stores to the Inner Sunset and Bernal Heights and has another seven stores scattered around the Bay Area.
Last year, Chen paid about $2 million to purchase 32 Clement St., where she planned to open another outpost of Therapy Stores, which carry locally made jewelry, greeting cards, books, candles and other San Francisco-centric gift items…