Known for its impressive holiday offerings, luxe housewares and glossy catalog, legendary San Francisco retailer Gump’s fell on hard times in 2018, when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed its famous Union Square storefront. Investment banker John Chachas and his family came to its rescue, purchasing the company in 2019 for $650,000 and reopening the store.
It seems as though things are still on the up-and-up for the 165-year-old retailer, which was founded by brothers Solomon and Gustave Gump as a mirror and frame shop in 1861: SFGATE has learned exclusively that Gump’s will open in Culver City’s Helms Design District, a Los Angeles shopping and dining complex that is itself on an upswing after a handful of retail and restaurant openings.
According to Helms Design District landlord Wally Marks, the opening will “hopefully” happen this summer. The new Gump’s Emporium will take over 60,000 square feet of the 100,000 square-foot space that used to house 20-year lessee, furniture retailer HD Buttercup. (The other 40,000 square feet have been turned over to Ikea, which runs a “city center” store out of the location.) Marks estimated that the brand’s SF store is around 8,000 square feet, meaning making the LA-area location considerably larger.
“When HD Buttercup gave me notice, I made two calls, one to Ikea, the other to [former Gump’s CEO] Claudia Hollingsworth,” Marks said. “They’re going to do what Gump’s does best: furniture, rugs, backgammon sets, bar sets, frames. It will be more than a gift shop.”
Marks noted that the new Gump’s will still house the Helms Bakery museum, which was on display in HD Buttercup and includes one of the iconic bakery’s delivery trucks on loan from LA County’s Natural History Museum.
“Gump’s has always been about discovery, craftsmanship, and creating inspiring experiences for our customers. The opening of Gump’s Emporium this summer at the historic Helms Design District in Los Angeles’ Culver City neighborhood represents an exciting evolution of that legacy — bringing together a curated collection of furniture, rugs, home décor, gifts, and premier design partners in one dynamic destination,” Marc Capalbo, Gump’s senior vice president of operations, told SFGATE via email.
He added: “For more than 165 years, Gump’s has been rooted in San Francisco while introducing customers to exceptional products and artistry from around the world. Beginning a new chapter in Los Angeles allows us to introduce Gump’s to a new generation of customers while staying true to the spirit that has defined the brand for generations. We see Helms as the ideal setting for this evolution — a place with history, creativity, and a deep appreciation for timeless design.”
It’s not the first time Gump’s has ventured outside of the Bay Area: It previously operated a 20,000-square-foot department store in Beverly Hills, as well as locations in Dallas and Houston. The Beverly Hills outpost opened in 1983 and shuttered in 1992; the Texas stores closed in 1991.
Over the years, the company — known as the “Tiffany’s of the West” — has gone through several ownership changes, and much of its business has shifted to catalog sales. In 2023, Chachas wrote an open letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, then-SF Mayor London Breed and the SF Board of Supervisors and also published it as a full-page ad in the San Francisco Chronicle, warning that it may be the shop’s last year due to “the profound erosion of this city’s conditions.”
With new retail activity in Union Square, as well as this expansion to Southern California, time will tell if Gump’s stays in business for another century.
