Ingleside’s Only Full-Service Bank To Close In September

Ingleside's lone pharmacy closed for good in February. In September, the neighborhood's sole full-service bank will close, too.

Wells Fargo is set to shut down its branch at Ocean and Plymouth avenues on Sept. 10.

"As we optimize our branch network, we are focused on evolving our branch presence based on customer usage and the changing traffic patterns and retail landscape to best meet the banking needs of each community we serve," a Wells Fargo spokesperson told The Light.

No explicit explanation for the planned closure was given. However, tellers at another branch said it was closing because business was slow.

There are no plans at the moment to preserve the community mural inside the branch depicting the El Rey Theater designed by architect Timothy Pflueger, an aerial view of the City College of San Francisco, the long-gone Ingleside racetrack and a K-Ingleside streetcar. (This reporter floated donating it to the Ingleside Branch Library.)

When the branch opened in 2017, there were three other full-service banks on Ingleside's Ocean Avenue. But much like neighborhood-serving pharmacies, brick-and-mortar banks are a casualty of changing consumer habits, such as the rise of mobile banking.

The loss of the bank will add to the number of retail vacancies on Ingleside's stretch of Ocean Avenue. However, the city is ready to help a tenant move in.

"The Office of Economic & Workforce Development is working with businesses and partners up and down Ocean Avenue to help them succeed," said Mikayla Carter, a spokesperson for OEWD. "We are ready to collaborate with any property owner or business who is interested in reimagining the Wells Fargo space and investing in this community and in San Francisco’s future."

The nearest Wells Fargo branches are located in West Portal at 145 W. Portal Ave. and the Excelsior at 4648 Mission St.