A San Francisco Superior Court judge has ordered Mohsen Mused, owner of the now-closed Tenderloin Market and Deli at 200 Leavenworth Street, to pay the city $151,000 after the city won a civil trial over illegal gambling and other violations, City Attorney David Chiu’s office announced Nov. 9. CBS News Bay Area reported the same judgment.
Why it matters: The court also permanently barred Mused from possessing gambling machines or drug paraphernalia at his other stores, at 701 Geary Street and 456 Ellis Street. The market operated from 2013 until the property owner evicted it on Aug. 26, 2026, under a $10,000 settlement with the city, the city attorney said. Police have reported improved conditions on the 200 block of Leavenworth since it closed.
The city attorney said San Francisco police had responded to dozens of calls at or around the store since 2020. In 2024, officers who saw slot machines there executed a search warrant and seized seven machines, a loaded firearm, $6,153 in cash and a money-counting machine, the office said. The store also sold drug paraphernalia in plain view to minors, according to the announcement. The city sued in October 2024; a June 2026 inspection and a later warrant found more illegal tobacco, paraphernalia and prescription drugs, officials said. The court ruled on Nov. 6.
“This store was not a humble market and deli—it was a magnet for illegal activity,” Chiu said. The office said it has sued or shut down 13 Tenderloin stores for nighttime-safety or other illegal-activity violations and has other cases pending.