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Just in time for the holiday season, Gump’s Department Store is set to be returning to the San Francisco area, but only as a pop-up operation that may be extended beyond the four months the new owners plan to keep it open, if they determine that holiday sales are good enough to keep it going for a longer time.
The Chachas family purchased the original Gump’s store and its trademark for $650,000 in 2018, and because of its long history of being in the Bay Area, its Executive Vice President, Annie Chachas, said that her family was ecstatic to be bringing it back to San Francisco so that its previous customers could still be able to shop for the same types of items that have always been offered at the luxury brand dealer.
She described it as being an elegant, old-school, whimsical business that has a rich history in that region, and she promised that they, as its new owners, would provide the same service and sophistication that it has always been known for from the time it first opened back in 1861.
Founded by two brothers named Solomon and Gustave Gump, the luxury merchandise retailer started as a mirror and frame shop, but it later acquired a bigger selection of products to sell, including high-end jewelry and precious gemstones, furniture, finely crafted decorative ornaments, linen, tableware and apparel by designers of luxury goods, such as Hermes and Buccellati.
Gump’s was also known for its Buddha statue, which had been a staple inside the store for many decades, but after it was awarded to the new Chief Executive Officer of the business, John Chachas, after his purchase of the store, he ended up selling in at an auction this past May.
He had planned to put a replica that he’d commissioned of the iconic statue in the new pop-up store, but because of limited space in the building, he opted to just go with another holiday feature that shoppers living in that location were used to seeing at the retailer, which is an elaborately decorated store equipped with Christmas trees and festively adorned windows.
In prior years, many people who lived and shopped in that area would stop to admire the holiday decorations and scenes that were on display when they passed by the outside of the store, as well as when they went inside of it to browse for unique, interesting and visually appealing gifts.
When some of the store’s previous customers found out that the business was going to be brought back to the Bay Area, even if temporarily, they expressed their happiness about it, because they had missed all that it had offered in earlier years in the way of charm, ambiance and quality merchandise.
The pop-up version of the store will open in Union Square at 250 Post Street, which is just one block away from where the first store was before it closed down in December of 2018. The former owners had relocated the business there in 1906, when a major earthquake hit that area, causing their first establishment to burn down.
The store is one of the oldest and most recognized ones of its kind among Bay Area residents, and its earlier building had three levels, which was a lot larger than the 2,000 square feet of space that the upcoming pop-up store will have.
A celebration for the new store’s opening will be held on October 16th, and the brand’s website will also re-open for business on that same date. Its website, www.gumps.com, will offer customers a larger selection of products than what will be available in its temporary shop.