Hi-Five Sports at 5411 Geary near 18th Avenue closed its doors this week after 5 years in business. The sports-themed enterprise offered indoor sport classes, camps, leagues and special events in its 5,000 square foot facility.
Hi-Five was a popular sports venue for young children learning sports like basketball, flag football, volleyball, and turf indoor soccer. The Geary location was Hi-Five’s first brick and mortar location after starting as a family business in Chicago in 1990.
Since opening their first storefront, Hi-Five has expanded and opened nearly twenty other locations in several states including Colorado, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Texas and Virginia.
For busy working parents, Hi-Five was a trusted place for after-school and summer fun for their kids. During the school year, Hi-Five’s van picked up kids at nearby schools like Argonne Elementary and brought them back to the Geary location for sports activities.
Hi-Five was also a regular sponsor of the Richmond District Jog in the Fog 5k every September.
CEO Ryan Tuchman said that after five and half years, the company decided to move their operation and their General Manager, Christian Daog, to their newest location in Littleton, Colorado.
“As you know, for a 20-something, living in this area can be tough so we are doing what we can to support such an amazing employee,” Tuchman said.
He also said that Hi-Five Sports was unable to come to acceptable terms with the building’s landlord for their lease renewal. The 5,000 square foot space was a former Walgreen’s that closed in 2010. The space stayed empty for almost 4 years before Hi-Five opened in May 2014.
While Tuchman regrets having to close the SF location, he is grateful for the impact that Hi-Five was able to have on the neighborhood.
“It is pretty sad but makes me feel better knowing that this location helped so many families and was a stepping stone for us to open more across the US. The ultimate goal is to enrich the lives of children through sports in as many communities as possible,” Tuchman said.
We’ll miss Murphy, Hi-Five’s ever-smiling canine mascot, and Hi-Five’s presence in the neighborhood. Here’s hoping something equally valuable can fill that hole on Geary.
Sarah B.
Since the landlord is scum and won’t come to a fair agreement, I hope the space sits empty for another 4 years.
Maybe the supervisors can look into why it is so desirable for commercial landlords to leave street retail empty for years, and why they are so willing to force out tenants with rent increase demands.
I’d really like to hear from commercial landlords how forcing businesses out is beneficial for them. What other business is going to rent this space, especially with Geary being demolished in the near future?
“Maybe the supervisors can look into why … they are so willing to force out tenants with rent increase demands.”
No investigation is necessary. Their greed is obvious to anyone who has eyes to see.
@MJ but how does having no tenant and an empty storefront for years benefit the greedy? It’s not like there’s a shortage of commercial spaces or a lot of retail tenants fighting over spaces.
I’m assuming that all of those complaining about “greedy landlords” must have inside information as to the lease renewal terms. Otherwise, you’re just taking a very simplistic approach to what is often times a complex situation. Do you know what the landlord’s costs are? What do you think is a reasonable ROI?
And if my memory serves me correctly this was the spot that PetsMart wanted to lease and was blocked by the Formula Retail restrictions.
Spot on Michael. Petsmart is moving to City Center with Whole Foods.
@Michael I think the comments here are really asking what kind of economics gives landlords a acceptable ROI on a vacant building rather than even a five year lease(which is what Hi-Five Sports apparently had)? I think most people would accept that if Hi-Five had demanded a 30 year lease with residential rent control type escalation, that would be unreasonable. So, we can only wait to find out the the landlord rents to a new tenant fairly soon. If not, the charge of “greed” will seem to fit.