Beloved San Francisco bar is latest on brink of closure thanks to skyrocketing rent and cost of food and drinks: 'We can't keep going'

The exodus of businesses and residents from crime-ridden Oakland has combined with 'skyrocketing' business expenses to leave another once thriving bar just days from extinction.

The Kon-Tiki attracted hordes of commuters with its cocktails and entertainment when it opened on 14th Street in 2017.

But owner Matt Reagan was forced to close its nearby sister restaurant Palmetto last year after the 'worst summer' it had ever faced and now his first bar looks likely to follow suit.

'The prospects of staying open are getting worse every week,' he told the SF Chronicle.

'At this point, we haven't made the decision to close but we can't stay open.'

The once-popular Kon-Tiki bar on Oakland's 14th Street looks set to become the latest victim of the city's workforce exodus combined with soaring overhead inflation

Co-owner Matt Reagan, pictured with wife Amy, said 'we haven't made the decision to close, but we can't stay open' 

Reagan said he chose the prime location with co-owner Christ Aivaliotis after being attracted by its 'bustling daytime workforce, active nightlife, and 4,000-plus apartment units planned or actively under construction'.

But the area has emptied of its workforce as businesses desert the city and allow their staff to work from home, while his utility bill has soared by 40 percent in the last three years, and his food bill by a third.

'You can't sell a $35 cheeseburger,' he said.

The City's Democrat leadership hailed police figures suggesting crime had fallen in Oakland by 33 percent in the year to May, until it was revealed that incomplete data from 2024 was being compared to complete data from previous years.

'This error in data interpretation might be excused if it was made by a member of the general public. But it is inexcusable when made by the City Administration itself,' said Oakland whistleblower Timothy Gardner who first spotted the anomalies.

Full year figures showed robberies up by 37 percent in 2023, burglary up 24 percent, and motor vehicle theft up 45 percent to an all-time high of 14,554.

Car break-ins have been so common in some areas of Oakland that locals have a name for it - bippin'.

The city's only In-N-Out Burger shuttered its doors on March 25 due to soaring crime - the only location to close in the popular chain's 75-year history.

The popular bar attracted hordes of commuters with its cocktails and entertainment when it opened on 14th Street in 2017

Oakland's Buck Wild Brewing opened during the pandemic and simply never saw the foot traffic it needed to keep business afloat

'Despite taking repeated steps to create safer conditions, our Customers and Associates are regularly victimized by car break-ins, property damage, theft, and armed robberies,' the company's chief operations officer, Denny Warnick, wrote in a statement.

DailyMail.com has previously reported Oakland crime 'hotspot' included that now shuttered In-N-Out and three gas stations near the Oakland Airport.

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The same happened in February with Oakland's only Denny's, which had been around for 54 years.

The situation is little better across the bay where a beloved hardware store closed last month after 61 years.

Glen Park Hardware was opened by Ed Josephson in 1963 who sold it to Hal and Susan Tauber in 1978.

The couple ran the store together for 38 years before selling it to another couple in 2016, the San Francisco Gate reported.

The Taubers sold the store to Rikbull, a limited liability corporation, earlier this year who then announced the closure.

It follows a string of other closures in the neighborhood this summer, including Cuppa, a boba store, and Glen Park Station bar.

Meanwhile Union Square at the heart of the city's retail district is virtually shuttered after losing outlets including Uniqlo, H&M, Rasputin Records, and Lush.

Old Navy, Nordstrom, Whole Foods, Anthropologie and Office Depot were among those announcing their exodus last year.

And they were followed by North Face, Jeffrey's Toys, Lacoste with Macy's expected to close its flagship store next year.

'As someone who grew up in San Francisco, Macy's has always meant a lot to the people of this city. It's where families came to shop for the holidays,' San Francisco Mayor London Breed said when the news was announced in February.

'It's where many people from my community got their first jobs, or even held jobs for decades. It's hard to think of Macy's not being part of our city anymore.'

Glen Park Hardware catered to the upmarket neighborhood of Glen Park for 61-years. Hal and Susan Tauber are pictured in 1978 after buying the business that year - and then running the store together for 38 until 2016

A map reveals the major businesses which have left, or have announced they are leaving, San Francisco in recent months. Retailers like Whole Foods, Anthropologie, Old Navy, AmazonGo, Saks Off Fifth and now American Eagle are among those taking part in the mass exodus

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is facing calls to resign from police chiefs and is facing a recall election in November.

Huy Nguyen, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association, warned the city has become a laughing stock.

'We're a joke and not just in the state but in the country and world. We need to change the state of the city,' he told a press conference last month.

Reagan has not announced a date for the closure of his bar and has begged his remaining customers to help save it.

'I'd like people to know the end is near, they should visit before we can no longer go on,' he said.

'We'd like to still be around when Oakland turns the corner.'