The area began to change in the early 90s during the first dot-com boom. Increased rents meant reduced blue-collar businesses.
Why did the Biros stay? “Why not!” Rick exclaims. “We are centrally located, so that we can serve the South Bay, North Bay, and East Bay. Plus, it was always known that you could get anything done in San Francisco. We were part of that. Still are.”
While the business stayed in San Francisco, the family moved out to the East Bay in 1966. “My Dad had to take the Greyhound bus in for a while,” Rick says with a laugh. “That was before the freeway system was finished and six years before BART.”
Today, the businesses around Biro & Sons are changing again. Furniture stores, coffee roasters and shops, craft breweries, and assorted creative and hospitality concerns dot the landscape now.
Next year will be the family’s 40th anniversary on Folsom Street. They are looking forward to the next generation of entrepreneurs, businesses, and San Franciscans that makes The City the best place in the world. And, they’ll be right here.