05/21/2021
Time to Say Goodbye
We hate to let you down after the incredible support and love you have showed us. We did try our absolute best to ride out the pandemic and its impact, break-ins and looting, but we are out of breath at this point. It is time for us to move on.
San Francisco is one of the most expensive places to run a small business, yet government support such as the PPP is calculated equally throughout the country. Unlike restaurants which are now receiving specialized funding on top of PPP, we have received almost nothing to help us survive.
The good news is that Hayes Valley is slowly coming back to life and some empty spaces are starting to fill with new businesses. We believe that by the time all event centers such as SF Jazz, SF Symphony, SF Ballet etc re-open, business could come back in a big way. While we had such fortune of growing our business with Hayes Valley which had blossomed from a desolate part of town to a booming community of artistic shops and restaurants, we would now love to pass the baton onto the next entrepreneur who wants to create her/his vision in our small but beautiful shop space.
As Supervisor Preston wrote of UKO, “[UKO] is emblematic of what makes Hayes Valley unique: it offers a one-of-a-kind experience, with owners who have put their heart and soul into the business.” We will be thrilled to see who does this next in Hayes Valley.
We have had the most wonderful 34 years with you and we thank you for your love. Thinking about all the people we have met over the years through our store, it’s fun to imagine the stories our clothing could tell! For example, there was the jazz singer who had a fashion emergency right before her performance at SF Jazz and ran into our shop 2 hours before her performance— and found the absolute perfect dress and accessories to wear on-stage. One day the SF Opera costume designer came in to shop for an outfit for her trip to Vienna the following day to meet with conductor Seji Ozawa. We felt honored to dress a costume designer!
We often receive feedback from local artists on UKO’s window displays. Recently, an architect stopped in to say that he walks by every day and loves to look at the window for inspiration even though we do not carry men’s clothes anymore.
We want you to know that it was so much fun to bring out the unique beauty that each and every woman possesses. As our store is known for such fashion-forward yet timeless clothes, we hope you will come to shop one last time before we close our doors knowing that you will be able to use and treasure your items from UKO for years to come. Even if you don’t want to shop, we would love to see you just to say goodbye!
With much love, Uko & Maya ❤️
We are having a closing sale in-store . www.ukoboutique.com
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Our current hours are
Tuesday-Saturday 11am-6pm
Feel free to call for an appointment outside of these hours, and we'd be happy to find a time that works for you.
Here are some photos from over the years of UKO!
