The RayKo Photo Center, which offers darkroom services, studio rentals, and workshops for San Francisco photographers, is teetering on the edge of closure.

In a heartfelt email sent to patrons this week, owner Stuart Kogod said that he's “stepping out of the shadows to discuss the future of RayKo Photo Center," because the business isn’t making enough money to survive.

“As the proprietor, I will need to make some significant changes, as I can no longer carry it alone," he writes. Unless he can find someone to help him, the photo center will shut down on April 30th, 2017. 

Kogod's hope is that RayKo can survive by transferring ownership or bringing on a new co-owner or group of co-owners. "With the right person at the helm, someone who has business skills and fire in their belly, RayKo could be a successful enterprise," he writes.

RayKo, which opened its doors at 428 Third St. in 2004, bills itself as “the largest public photographic community center west of the Mississippi," with an array of services for photographers and an in-house gallery. The studio offers a wide array of photography classes, from traditional darkroom techniques to old-school processes like tintyping to modern digital photography. 

Unless he can find some help to save the center, Kogod reports that RayKo’s final gallery exhibit will be the tenth annual International Juried Plastic Camera Show, which will run through April 23rd. The store and gallery will also be modifying its hours beginning in February, closing on Monday and Friday and opening from 12:30-9:30pm Tuesday-Thursday and 10am-7pm on Saturday and Sunday.

It's been a tough week for longtime SoMa businesses, with bicycle shop Pacific Bicycle announcing it will close in February and nightclub DNA Lounge also reporting that it's on the brink of closure. But Kogod remains positive. 

“Whatever the future holds, I'd like to thank you for joining me in this wild and fulfilling ride," he writes. “I will try my hardest to continue to keep you informed.”

Thanks to Mike W. and Bala for the tip.

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