After a $300,000 Break-in, a San Francisco Business Owner Refuses to Be a Victim and Stays Positive About the Future
Even though his fashion shop had six figures worth of stolen clothes and other items, Ben Wang, the owner of the business, won’t give up on San Francisco. This is the second theft he’s had in a row.
Wang is the happy owner of San Francisco’s Dare Fashion. In the past three years, his store has been robbed five times. The most recent theft cost Wang’s company more than $300,000. Because of this, he had to make a GoFundMe page.
Wang has been running his business in the city for 17 years and has not given up on it. What he really said was that his dream of living in San Francisco was still very much alive.
“I love San Francisco,” Wang said. “I really do,” she said. I really believe in what San Francisco has always stood for: it’s a modern city where people are willing to try new things and care about others.
“But I really believe we jumped ahead of ourselves a bit.” We did some things, and when they didn’t work, we did them even better.
In 2014, Prop 47 was passed in California. It changes some theft and drug possession crimes from felonies to misdemeanors if the stolen goods are worth less than $950.
Wang made it clear that he wasn’t a politician and didn’t have any specific policy suggestions for San Francisco. However, he did say that the city needs to “rethink things.”
Wang said that San Francisco’s homelessness and drug problems have gotten worse over the past few years.
“There is a lot of human poop and pee on the street,” he said. “And we have to acknowledge that’s not hygienic and that’s disgusting.”
Wang said that he pushed to move to a different part of San Francisco even after his store was broken into because he still loves the city. On the other hand, he said that he knows business owners whose companies have failed since COVID.
“I do know businesses that have shut down for sure,” he stated. “And people who have lost everything or they lost their business.”
Wang said, “I know people who have left.” He said that leaders in San Francisco should ask themselves, “Why are people leaving?” and “What is so hard about running a business in San Francisco?”
He said, “Overall,” Wang wants to meet people in San Francisco, especially now that COVID is over.
“One of the reasons I love San Francisco [is that it] has always been a place throughout history that has served people who didn’t necessarily feel like they belonged in the communities where they were coming from,” said he.
“People have always come to San Francisco to let their free flag fly and to be themselves,” Wang said.
“I just don’t think that even if with bad policies, even with all this other stuff happening, you can’t crush that spirit,” he added.