Jeweler in San Francisco’s Marina closes shop after multiple burglaries

SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco jewelry designer and shop owner says she’s closing her business after three burglaries in less than a year, with the most recent burglary happening in the last week. 

Meg Shackleton turned a college hobby into a successful business. For the last decade, she has run Margaret Elizabeth with its own SF store to showcase her jewelry designs on Chestnut Street. 

She says she’s done trying to stay open and stay safe in the city.   

“It’s really been the last year, year and half where the crime has really, really ticked up,” explained Shackleton. “It’s just so disheartening.”

She says surviving the pandemic wasn’t nearly as much of a challenge as the threat of thieves stealing her inventory. 

San Francisco police confirm thieves broke into the store back in August of last year, followed by two more recent burglaries in April and again last week. Police have not made any arrests in all three burglaries.  

“When the second break-in, or the third break-in happened, the writing was really on the wall,” she said. “I just feel lucky that our staff have remained safe and that nobody has been hurt during this. But these are really brazen attacks.” 

The burglaries typically happened early in the morning. She still can’t believe criminals are getting away breaking into stores like hers at 5 a.m. In the Marina District. 

“I do think that jewelry is kind of a unique category. We have a product that is very easy to resell or melt down,” Shackleton said. “There’s a strong market for it on the black market.” 

One burglary after another has the owner not only worried about safety inside her store but also concerned for people out on the street.

“It’s not safe for any of us, and it’s not an enjoyable way to be living in the city of San Francisco,” Shackleton said. 

In the last two burglaries that happened less than a month apart, thieves got away with more than $50,000 in merchandise each time.

Shackleton said the entrepreneurial spirit she felt san francisco celebrated when she started her business ten years ago isn’t the same. And she would caution others to take the same risk she did.

“It’s really disappointing. I would probably tell somebody not to open a store right now quite honestly,” she said. “I hope that something can be done to clean this city up, because it’s a great city. There’s so much wealth here, and it’s absolutely inexcusable that it’s in the state that it is.”