Le Marais Bakery in San Francisco had its main entrance door smashed in a burglary last December, and nearly five months later, owner Patrick Ascaso hasn’t replaced it. He doesn’t plan to anytime soon.
In a candid letter to his customers, Ascaso explained that he hasn’t replaced the door to his bakery at 498 Sanchez St. because of the financial toll it has cost him to repair vandalism. He said that since the beginning of the pandemic, he’s spent about $27,000 in window repairs alone, adding that a door replacement will cost him about $8,000.
Ascaso went on to say that he has applied to San Francisco’s Storefront Vandalism Relief Grant seven times and is frustrated by the response he’s received. According to Ascaso, the city found one application incomplete “due to missing proof of damage,” and hasn’t responded to subsequent applications.
“Our elected officials promote this grant as a solution for local small businesses,” Ascaso wrote. “We deserve some response and assistance from them. Until then, this door will remain broken, and I am sincerely sorry for this.”
The Office of Economic and Workforce Development launched the Storefront Vandalism Relief Grant in September 2021. It assists small business owners and offers up to $2,000 towards physical damages after vandalism incidents and has awarded more than $1 million to 784 small businesses in San Francisco.
A spokesperson at the Office of Economic and Workforce Development told SFGATE that members of that agency and members of the Office of Small Business have reached out to Ascaso to help him complete the missing information on his application but “have not heard back.” The spokesperson added that the Storefront Vandalism Relief Grant is a reimbursement-based program and applicants must provide an invoice with proof of repairs. They recommended that Ascaso fix his storefront entrance and reach out to the city with receipts.
The city program offers aid to small businesses “based on fund availability” on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the website. Another caveat: The grant will only accept a maximum of two claims per year, which means that businesses that are targeted multiple times will need to find alternative funding for repairs.
The December 2022 burglary marked the sixth time Le Marais Bakery was burglarized, KPIX reports. Burglars left the business in shambles last December when they smashed the main entrance and stole business iPads and a safe. A month earlier, Le Marais had also been broken into.
In response to the December break-in, Ascaso shared an Instagram post that included photos of the aftermath. In them, the work counter is ransacked and the main glass door destroyed. Ascaso took his frustration out on Mayor London Breed, Gov. Gavin Newsom, and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
“They took everything from our Castro café last night, even our industrial safe from the basement,” Ascaso wrote last year. “… Please, San Francisco and California leaders, do more to care for our city and its small businesses. We deserve better. Our communities deserve better.”
Ascaso told SFGATE via email that he has since reapplied for the program but hasn’t received financial assistance at this time.