Last fall, the Ashbury Tobacco Center (1524 Haight St.), the 23-year-old head shop in the Jimi Hendrix Red House, added used electronics sales and electronics repair to its lineup of tobacco and tobacco products. 

The new addition has been so successful that the shop is now winding down its smoking-paraphernalia business, and rebranding as Ashbury Tech.

Owner Mark Zeidan said this week that the switch was well-timed, as foot traffic has been slow.

"There's too much competition" for head shops on the street, he said, echoing what some residents have said for years about the businesses' concentration in the neighborhood.

Zeidan, who also owns Haight Street Tobacco (1827 Haight St.) and California Tobacco Center (1501 Polk St.) said his other stores will absorb the bulk of the store's tobacco inventory. However, he does plan to retain a small collection of pipes to sell in the back of the store.

Over the next couple of weeks, Zeidan expects to continue expanding Ashbury Tech's selection of electronics—including laptops, desktop computers, headphones, drones, and chargers—and staffing up with tech support experts and phone repairers.

Offerings will be a little minimal until then, but the full inventory should be up and running within a month or so.