Historic San Francisco Shop That Inspired ‘Toy Story’ Movies Closing amid Rampant Crime

The oldest toy store in San Francisco, which was the inspiration for the movie Toy Story, is shutting its doors for good due to rampant crime and other issues.

Jeffrey’s Toys said Friday it will be permanently closed by the end of February after 86 years of serving customers, the New York Post reported Saturday.

Attorney Ken Sterling said, “The store has been struggling for a number of years, due to the perils and violence of the downtown environment, inflation, the decrease in consumer spending and the demise of retail across the world.”

In a social media post Thursday, Jeffrey’s Toys advertised glass cases it is selling for $100, and followers of the page shared their thoughts about the impending closure:

Glass Cases for Sale – $100 6 feet tall 4 feet wide 20 inches deep – send us a message.

Posted by Jeffrey's Toys on Thursday, January 25, 2024

“Oh wow. So heartbroken to hear this news. I never had my own children, but I bought so many wonderful gifts over the years for my niece and nephew at Jeffrey’s. So sorry to see you go,” one person wrote.

“You SF leftists and your crime-enabling city government are directly responsible for this tragedy. Until you WAKE UP and stop your insanity, the city retail core will continue to decay. STOP VOTING DEMOCRAT!” another user commented.

“This is very unfortunate that this store is permanently closing,” someone else said.

The Post article noted the Luhn family founded the business in 1938 and had several locations in the area for quite some time.

“The store eventually transferred to their grandson Mark Luhn, whose son and current co-owner Matthew Luhn had worked for Pixar as a story artist and writer in the mid-1990s,” the outlet said.

During an interview with ABC 7 in December, Matthew Luhn said, “The pandemic’s been hard on people, the uptick in crime. I look around me right now and I see so many buildings that are closed, are shuttered.”

“Why are we here? Well, we love San Francisco, we love toys, and we’re the type of family that just doesn’t give up,” he added. The outlet noted at the time that the store was working to determine if it would survive after the Christmas holiday:

Store workers have also apparently fallen victim to the rampant crime. Luhn said that in one instance, a former employee was shoved against the wall at the shop and almost stabbed.

In April, Whole Foods was reportedly closing a new location in downtown San Francisco due to crime, according to Breitbart News.

“Nearly half of the stores in downtown San Francisco have shuttered and fled since 2019,” Breitbart News said in June.

WATCH — “FOR LEASE”: Closed, Vacant Businesses Line San Francisco Street as Retailers Flee