After Being Looted, Rif SF Says It Won’t Reopen

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Looters decimated West Coast sneaker consignment standout Rif SF during the unrest over the death of George Floyd this weekend. And the store said it won’t be able to reopen the San Francisco location.

The company wrote on the Twitter account of its Los Angeles location on Monday, “I’m sorry San Francisco. Can’t bounce back from this one,” and doubled-down yesterday via Instagram.

“DTLA/Little Tokyo has served as a [pillar] for diversity for all races and we are honored for this place to be called our home. We wish we could’ve been in San Francisco more to serve the beautiful community that stands there,” Rif LA wrote in an Instagram caption yesterday. “But after 5 years, we have to say goodbye to our SF store. We cannot recover everything that was recently lost to us in SF, while restoring our home team here in LA. We thank everyone who has been with us throughout our journey and look forward to serving our sneaker family once again here in LA. Thank you for all the support.”

Rif LA confirmed the looting via Twitter on Monday, sharing a screenshot of a Japantown Community Benefit District report revealing the boards protecting the store had been torn down and the store was in “disarray.” It also stated it appeared as if six people broke into the store around 11:20 p.m. PT on May 30 and left with merchandise.

Rif LA, which debuted in 2006, is co-owned by Jeff Malabanan and Ed Mateo. In the message shared on Instagram yesterday, its ownership offered a message of hope.

“For the past 14 years it has only been me and my partner. No investors, just two Filipinos with a dream. We try to stay behind the scenes, stay in our lane, and serve those in need including our neighbors at [Skid Row] who have always been a part of our shop,” the caption read. “We are not angry to what happened to us because we know there are still bigger issues the black community face everyday. There is still so much we need to do for our voices to be heard, respect to be given, hate to be washed away. My only hope is for our youth to find proper guidance and spread awareness in ways businesses can save their livelihood and continue to feed their families.”

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