SAN FRANCISCO—The Walgreens at 790 Van Ness Ave. will permanently close its doors on Nov. 11 due to continuous shoplifting incidents, according to company spokesman Phil Caruso.
The remaining prescription files will transfer to the Walgreens located at 1301 Franklin St. Walgreens is one of the largest pharmacy chains in the U.S. and it has been serving people around the Opera Plaza area. This became the eighth Walgreens to close in San Francisco since 2019. Other locations that have closed or are set to close include:
- 320 Bay St.
- 100 Sansome St.
- 116 New Montgomery St.
- 730 Market St.
- 845 Market St. (Westfield Mall)
- 3801 Third St. (Bayview Plaza)
- 1979 Mission St. (next to 16th Street BART station)
In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, customer Sebastian Luke said that whenever he entered the store, they always had problems with shoplifters. He had been photographing the suspects shoplifting at the Walgreens for months.
He explained that the policy at Walgreens is “not to get involved,” because they want to avoid any staff members or customers getting injured or sued.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that beauty supplies are a recently favored target of shoplifters. Plastic theft guards and anti-theft cables are attached to remaining products and clothes. They suggested that shoplifters might have been coming from a homeless encampment just across Eddy Street.
