Patriotic art stores in san francisco?

Why do seedy, legacy liquor stores stubbornly continue to exist in gentrified San Francisco neighborhoods?

• Usually seedy, urban liquor stores are typically prevalent in lower income neighborhoods in cities across the United States. However, you see these kinds of stores all over gentrified neighborhoods like Noe Valley, Hayes Valley, and the Castro while restaurants and other shops have dramatically changed in the same areas. Sure, those neighborhoods were run-down as recently as 20 years ago, but it seems that liquor stores are one of the most resistant artifacts of change in San Francisco. They are run-down on the outside and inside and while some have ventured into higher quality convenience offerings, which may cater to the neighborhood tastes, most are stocked with standard brands of beer, wine, cigarettes, and packaged food. What are your theories on why they still exist? Are they a surprisingly lucrative, high-margin business? Do San Franciscans have guilty pleasures for junk food? Run by the mafia?

• Answer:

  Liquor stores are not surprisingly lucrative or high margin: http://retailowner.com/Benchmarks/Food-and-Beverage-Stores/Beer-Wine-Liquor-Stores#289679-profit 25% GM on average, 3% pre-tax profit My guess is that there is still reasonable demand for these products (run of the mill beer/wine/liquor/processed snacks) even amongst more upmarket neighborhoods. But now picture yourself as an owner of the store... you work long hours b/c retail help is expensive you pay high rent b/c the neighborhood is getting more trendy demand for your products might be capped in favor of healthier and more upscale alternatives Would you invest $100K to renovate your store with fancy fixtures, lighting, exterior work? There's just no way the ROI would be there unless the owner of building took this upon themselves in hopes of boosting rents, in which case the store would probably turn over to something else.