Return of Salesforce employees brings boost to downtown San Francisco businesses
The sidewalks were getting busier in downtown San Francisco this week as Salesforce employees returned to working in the office full time.
For Zachary Taylor who manages 83 Proof -- a bar just across the street from Salesforce Tower -- a full happy hour crowd on a Wednesday was a nice sight.
"I'm seeing faces that I haven't seen in a while coming back right now and, you know, names on credit card tabs I haven't seen in a while so that's always a good sign," said Taylor.
Like so many businesses in the area, 83 Proof has been profoundly impacted by the large number employees still working from home since the pandemic instead of returning to the office.
This week brought a major change, with Salesforce now requiring most employees to come back to the building. That is music to Taylor's ears.
"As Salesforce returns, Linked-In returns, some of the law offices. Other companies and AI companies start taking over some of the office space. We'll just start seeing more normalcy towards a pre-pandemic level," said Taylor.
Down the street just a block, the people working at International Smoke couldn't agree more. They said in just the two days since Salesforce employees were required to come back, they've noticed a big difference.
"I've seen a lot more traffic outside, which is nice. I think people are still getting their bearings straight coming back to the office, so we haven't necessary seen them come into the office quite yet. It's only been two days, but you know, we have signs out. We've gone by yesterday saying, 'Hey, we're here! Come back to us!'" said International Smoke general manager Jose Gorospe.
Gorospe says he expects bigger crowds to start coming in as soon as people get settled into their office routines again.
Back at 83 Proof, Zachary anticipates a similar increase in customers. He says their crowds are still a bit below pre-pandemic levels, but just the fact that people are back working in the area will make a big difference.
"I'm hoping to see about a 10 to 15 percent bump as more and more people get acclimated to going back to the office more and more," said Taylor.
Bar customer Klara Viktorynova told CBS News Bay Area she also works at a nearby restaurant. She was at 83 Proof celebrating her birthday and said she was happy to see the place filled up with people having a good time.
"I think it's great to see a lot of professionals that are enjoying themselves. There are so many places in San Francisco that have started doing happy hours that were previously not doing happy hours, just to get a little bit more crowd in. And it's a wonderful place to be," said Viktorynova.