No, it’s not some kind of kink shop. Jeffrey’s is a legit toy store (i.e., selling dolls, boardgames, model airplanes, etc). I bought Star Wars action figures from them c. 1978. It’s sad but unsurprising that they’re having trouble.
When I was a kid, S.F. had a lot of toy stores, e.g., King Norman’s, Jeffrey’s, FAO Schwarz, to name just a few. They’re all gone now. Why? Several factors: (1) S.F. has the lowest percentage of of children of any big city in America; (2) The toy business is tough everywhere, as mass merchandisers like Targets & Wal-Marts have taken over the market from specialty toy stores; (3) online shopping. Jeffrey’s is in a particularly rough spot, as its location on the border of the financial district likely gets minimal foot traffic from the tourists who are more lucrative potential toy customers compared to area’s vestigial contingent of officer workers.
Yes I have heard that San Francisco has relatively few school-age children. Which certainly would affect the total customer base for a toy store.
I think I heard a few years ago, San Francisco wanted to try to increase the number of families with children , and wanted to enact policies to achieve that.
Among other obstacles are the fact that within the city of San Francisco , real estate is so expensive. Ordinary single family homes can easily be well over a million dollars within the city of San Francisco.