This Popular San Francisco Store Is No Longer Open 24 Hours

The Safeway in San Francisco's Castro district is known for being open 24 hours, 7 days a week.

Now, the store has decided to drastically cut back its hours.

According to KTVU, "rampant theft" is what caused the store to change their hours of operation from 6:00 A.M. until 9:00 P.M.

"It's really bad for customers, who are often lower-income folks, seniors," said San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who represents the Castro district.

Mandelman has been in contact with the management at Safeway about what he's calling "out of control theft."

"Safeway says that the last six months are the worst on record for them at this location and I think actually companywide of any location," he said.

Mandelman also pointed out that the reduced hours are a serious equity issue because the store is one of the few affordable grocery options in the area.

"Also for the people who work in these stores, one it's demoralizing to have this going on, two if the store is cutting back hours, it's fewer hours for the workers," Mandelman said.

After the decision, the company released the following statement:

"Safeway has been proudly serving San Francisco since 1926, and we continue to invest in the community with new and remodeled stores. Recent changes at the Market Street store were made to maintain a safe and welcoming shopping experience for our customers and associates given the increasing amount of theft at the store."