Dear Mayor Breed, Dr. Colfax, Dr. Aragon, and Supervisors:

We write first and foremost with gratitude for everything that you have done thus far to maintain the safety of most San Franciscans during this unprecedented global pandemic. It is because of all of your efforts – and through your collaboration with health experts and other elected leaders throughout the region – that San Francisco has evaded the worst of this crisis.

We also write to you as small business owners who have struggled to access relief and – in the most recent Health Order – have been afforded little consideration relative to other activities that seem, frankly, less essential than ensuring that the fabric of our small business community remains in tact. Some of us have even tried to operate in extremely limited capacities and have nevertheless been ordered to shut down, while being told that our livelihoods and those of our workers are “non-essential.”

That is why we are asking for immediate relief in the next Health Order to allow for all small businesses to serve their customers by providing safe curbside purchases and pickups, similar to how restaurants have been allowed to provide safe takeout service to their customers throughout the emergency.

We are more than willing and available to discuss what “safety” looks like in this context, including the implementation of enforceable protocols to ensure we are (1) regularly cleaning all surfaces, (2) providing personal protective equipment to our staff, (3) maintaining safe and accessible access to sidewalk space, and (4) ensuring social distancing practices are adhered to at all times. Frankly, other activities are being allowed to proceed under less stringent and less enforceable protocols.

Again, we appreciate all that you have done to protect San Franciscans during the COVID-19 emergency. We are not asking to “open up” San Francisco in any way that would imperil the health and safety of our beloved City. But we are asking for limited relief to allow us to operate under safe conditions in order to prevent San Francisco’s small business community from suffering a death by a thousand cuts.

Sincerely,


The Undersigned Small Business Owners