Longtime Divis Shop Your Scents Trading To Close This Month

Longtime Divis Shop Your Scents Trading To Close This MonthPhotos: Stephen Jackson/Hoodline
Stephen Jackson
Published on May 22, 2015

After 18 years at his current location, and 33 years in the incense business on Divisadero, Jason Hopkins will close Your Scents Trading at the end of this month.

When we profiled his shop at 645 Divisadero St. last summer, Hopkins mentioned that he feared for the longevity of his business, aware that his lease was up in less than two years. Evidently, his suspicions proved correct: He was approached by Prado Group, the building's new owners, before the end of last year.


According to Hopkins, they informed him that they were planning to take the space "in a different direction" when his lease expired in May 2016 and that he would not be offered a new one. At that point, they offered a new lease at one of two spaces in the Tenderloin if Hopkins agreed to terminate his lease before it was up. "They were terrible," Hopkins told us of the spaces offered.

Prado Group is also the landlord that declined to renew the lease at Cara Glass & Sash next door.

He declined that offer and in February of this year they returned and offered him $10,000 to move out early. Jason countered that with a request of $46k-62k, and they ultimately settled last month on an undisclosed amount.

"I can't run around clicking my heels about it, but it's fair," said Hopkins. He told us that it just made more sense for him to take the deal than to allow his lease to run its course to the end.


Once he's closed, Hopkins will have a kiosk set up at Health Haven a few doors down, and he plans to hit some fairs and festivals this summer. He is currently unsure about where he might open another location in San Francisco.

"I'm planning on taking a few months to get together some loose ends in my life. I'd be happy to have another place before the holidays or before the new year," he said.

Hopkins' departure is particularly poignant because he grew up in the neighborhood and has been working on Divisadero since the early 1980s. He feels that the rapid new development of the area has alienated many longtime residents.

"I was walking down Hayes Street the other day and felt like a stranger on the streets I grew up on. I could point out my first girlfriend's house, my best friend from middle school's house, and now I'm walking around and people are looking at me like I'm a stranger. How do I feel like a stranger on these Fillmore streets—oh, I'm sorry, I mean 'NoPa'."


He went on to comment on the gradual migration of non-whites out of San Francisco. "People say they are kicking people out who are black or brown, but really it has to do with the lack of green," he said. "If you don't have the green, you're out."

Your Scents will be open until Sunday, May 31st. All bulk incense, clothing and art is currently on sale at half price, so swing by and pick something up before it's too late.