Jeffrey’s Toys “had this real magical thing” about it, co-owner Matthew Luhn told SFGATE in an interview last month. The shop was operated by his family for four generations, and he had been co-running it with his father, Mark, and stepmother Rosie Coronado-Luhn, after spending his entire childhood there. His great-great-grandparents started the store in 1938 as a variety shop, but shifted exclusively to toys in 1953, and at its height, the business grew to multiple locations throughout the Bay Area, including in San Leandro, Oakland and Hayward. 

It was at its San Francisco outpost where Luhn learned to run the cash register and count change at a young age and was paid in toys. The colorful, creative environment spurred him to go to animation school when he got older, and he was hired to work for “The Simpsons” at 19, before eventually spending 20 years as an animator, writer and story director at Pixar, working on “Monsters, Inc.,” “Ratatouille” and “Cars,” among other hits at the Emeryville-based studio. 

“During ‘Toy Story,’ we would have my dad come to give us ideas,” he told SFGATE recently.  “And when we did reference for almost all the ‘Toy Story’ films, we always went to Jeffrey’s Toys. My dad just closed up the store and said, ‘Just play, have fun and let me know if you need anything.’” 

The time soon came for Luhn to take over the store himself, but a series of mounting obstacles led to its slow demise. In 2015, the store had to move from its longtime location at 685 Market St. to Berkeley after the threat of a rent hike, before it relocated to its current location on Kearny Street two years later. The increasing norm of online shopping dealt another heavy blow, but Jeffrey’s Toys also experienced plummeting business as a result of the pandemic and fewer office workers downtown. Crime in the area has exacerbated the issue, he said, recounting incidents of attempted shoplifting and one instance in which someone attempted to stab one of his employees, causing her to quit after working there for five years. 

“We want to stay in business, but we need a healthier relationship with the city,” he said last month, adding that the store pays $20,000 per month in rent alone. “We’re putting our money in, we’re putting our hard work in, and we’re putting our love into it. But, in the relationship we have with the city, that’s not being returned.”

Jeffrey’s Toys alerted customers to its upcoming closure on Facebook last Tuesday, announcing that “all things must GO” and its full-price merchandise, not including consignment items, was 30% off. 

When asked what the final straw may have been for the store, Ken Sterling of Sterling Venture Law, an attorney representing the Luhn family, cited “the perils and violence of the downtown environment, inflation, the decrease in consumer spending and the demise of retail across the world.” He told SFGATE the business had simply exhausted all of its options in trying to stay afloat.

“The family is saddened it has come to this,” Sterling wrote in an emailed statement. “The leadership of the City of San Francisco and the Downtown Association have their work cut out for them on how to revitalize what was once a vibrant and fun downtown experience. … We are working through this complex situation with the landlords and creditors and at this time, I’ve advised my clients to not be interviewed by the press.”

Jeffrey’s Toys is at 45 Kearny St. Sterling told SFGATE the store’s last day in business is slated to be Feb. 10. 

SFGATE local editor Jillian D’Onfro contributed to this report.