The Richmond District — that glorious fog-wrapped strip of the city where you can get dim sum, a surfboard, and an existential crisis about rent all within a few blocks — is going through its usual churn of business openings and closings.

Let's start with the good news: new businesses are still willing to take the plunge in San Francisco, which in 2025 feels less like a business decision and more like an act of faith. Every new storefront that opens on Clement or Geary is a small vote of confidence that this city hasn't completely regulated the entrepreneurial spirit out of existence. We'll take those wins where we can get them.

But for every opening, there's a closing — and each one is a reminder that running a small business in SF remains an obstacle course of permits, taxes, and compliance costs that would make a Fortune 500 CFO weep. The Richmond has long been one of the city's most authentic neighborhood commercial corridors, the kind of place where family-run shops actually survive. When those start disappearing, it's worth asking what City Hall is doing to make things easier rather than harder.

The answer, apparently, is composting. Yes, San Francisco continues its noble quest to micromanage your garbage. Look, we're not against composting — it's fine, it's good for the planet, whatever. But there's something almost poetic about a city that can't keep its budget balanced lecturing small business owners about separating their banana peels from their coffee grounds.

Here's what the Richmond actually needs: streamlined permitting, lower fees for small operators, and a city government that treats new businesses like assets instead of ATMs. The neighborhood's charm has always been its scrappy, independent character. That doesn't survive on vibes alone — it survives when the economics actually work.

If you love your favorite Richmond spot, spend your money there this week. That does more than any city program ever will.