A security guard recently went looking for the old shoe shine guy on Market Street — the one who used to set up near the Embarcadero cable car turnaround, right in front of the Hyatt Regency. He hadn't been back since before COVID and figured the man was probably gone.

Turns out, he's still there. Some days, at least.

But the fact that anyone has to ask tells you everything about what's happened to street-level commerce in San Francisco. Shoe shiners, newsstands, the steady flow of wingtips and cap toes marching down Market Street toward the Financial District — these weren't just quaint touches. They were signs of a healthy, functioning downtown economy. Small entrepreneurs making an honest living on public sidewalks, no permits from seven different city agencies required.

As one local put it: "Not enough wingtips and cap toes on the street anymore to support these guys." And they're right. Remote work hollowed out the Financial District, and city leadership spent years debating how to bring people back downtown while simultaneously making it harder and less pleasant to actually be there.

Another San Francisco resident captured something deeper: the shoe shiners belong to a whole constellation of lost downtown traditions — "news stands, hordes of men in suits walking down Market Street, papers being thrown out of office windows on NYE" — a city that today's residents only know from hazy childhood memories and old photographs.

Here's the thing nobody at City Hall wants to say out loud: a thriving city doesn't need a $200 million "downtown revitalization plan." It needs foot traffic, low barriers to entry for small operators, and streets where people actually feel safe spending time. A guy with a shoe shine stand, a chair, and a rag is the most organic economic indicator you'll ever find. When he can make a living, the city is working. When he can't, no amount of taxpayer-funded activation grants will fix it.

For now, a few barber shops in FiDi will shine your boots for $15-20, and reportedly someone still sets up near Montgomery Station on weekday mornings. Seek them out. Spend the money. The best urban policy is sometimes just showing up and supporting the people who never left.