Chronicle Blames Remote Work for Mall Death. The Real Killer? Crime.

The Chronicle ran yet another piece on SF Centre’s death spiral, carefully attributing the mall’s collapse to “pandemic and remote work.” What they conveniently left out? The shoplifting and open drug dealing that made shopping there feel like navigating a dystopian hellscape.

Archived tweet

You left out the rampant shoplifting and open drug use right outside that scared away all the shoppers. 🤷‍♂️ @rolandlisf @sfchronicle https://t.co/uU92bdWYqy

T Wolf 🌁 @Twolfrecovery January 06, 2026

T Wolf—a recovery advocate who was formerly homeless himself—called out what everyone who’s walked past the mall knows: it wasn’t Zoom calls that killed Westfield. It was the crime.

The Final Eviction

According to the Chronicle, the new owners are now suing to evict the three remaining holdouts: Executive Order bar, Shoe Wiz repair service, and a salon. That’s all that’s left of what was once the city’s biggest mall.

Notice the framing: “pandemic and remote work.” Not a single mention of the rampant theft and drug use that anyone with working eyes could observe on Powell Street. It’s journalistic malpractice by omission.

The Real Story They Won’t Tell

Here’s what the Chronicle doesn’t want you to connect: Stonestown Mall in the Sunset is thriving. Valley Fair in San Jose is packed. If e-commerce and remote work were killing malls, they’d all be dying. But they’re not—only the ones surrounded by open-air drug markets and consequence-free shoplifting are going under.

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If we can’t say the obvious thing in the legacy media, what is the point of the legacy media? Cover up the mistakes of the state? https://t.co/rj225VssqW [Quoting @Twolfrecovery]: You left out the rampant shoplifting and open drug use right outside that scared away all the shoppers. 🤷‍♂️ @rolandlisf @sfchronicle https://t.co/uU92bdWYqy

Garry Tan @garrytan January 06, 2026

If the legacy media can’t state the obvious—that allowing drug traffickers to operate freely in public spaces and letting shoplifters walk out with merchandise destroyed downtown retail—then what exactly is the point of local journalism? To provide cover for failed progressive policies?

What Comes Next?

The lender group has hired CBRE to sell the property, but as the article notes, “any reimagining of the property into another usage could be prohibitively expensive.” A full closure would cut expenses—and leave another gaping hole in downtown SF.

Twenty-five years of progressive legislation made it nearly impossible to open or renovate retail downtown. SF is the only major downtown in North America that didn’t add substantial housing. And now the Chronicle wants to blame Zoom for the consequences.

Executive Order bar owner John Eric Sanchez told the Chronicle he’d fight the eviction. “We’re trying to hold out as long as we can,” he said. But holding out against what? The crime that drove away customers, or the media that refuses to name it?

Follow @garrytan for more.