After nearly forty years, the Tibet Shop closes its doors

The Tibet Shop (4100 19th Street), a San Francisco fixture for nearly 40 years, will be closing its doors at the end of March. We went into the store and had a chat with the store assistant who said the reason owner Dorjè Lama decided to close the shop was due to the fact that he is ready to retire. The small shop is packed with a wide selection of authentic merchandise from Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan including rugs, bags, jewelry and more. To liquidate their stock they are having a 50% off sale on nearly everything and are willing to negotiate even further if necessary.

The Tibet Shop has had a long history. Lama started selling Tibetan goods from a table on Portobello Road in London in the late 1960's. Soon after he setup a brick and mortar shop where he expanded his inventory. Lama moved to San Francisco in 1974 and setup his shop on Broadway near the end of the old freeway that used to go through downtown San Francisco. 7 years later he moved the store to 1807 Polk Street. In 1999 the store made its final stop in the Castro where its been in business for 14 years. Lama posted a friendly note in the window reminiscing over the history that the shop has been witness to over the decades including 7 full-term SF Mayors and some of the best jazz musicians the Polk has ever turned out. He closed his letter with gratitude saying simply, "Thanks for everything." (via Biscuit tipster Brandon)