A drag queen bids farewell to Williams-Sonoma’s flagship store in San Francisco
As Williams-Sonoma closes its doors in San Francisco, Juanita MORE! reflects on Chuck Williams and the store's queer history
Mark
Chuck Williams always greeted me with a warm smile when I stopped into his Williams-Sonoma kitchenware flagship store, overlooking Union Square in San Francisco, just a short walk from my apartment.
I could see in his eyes that he was proud of what he built, and I was happy to be part of his legacy.
By the time I had met Chuck in the early 90s, he had already sold his share of the business but was still actively involved in merchandise selection and appearances.
Who knew that a trip to Paris in 1953 would inspire him to create a cookware empire that would fill kitchens around the world? A hardware store he purchased in Sonoma, where he lived, became the first shop where he showcased the French cookware that inspired him. Just a few years later, he moved the little store to San Francisco’s Union Square, just a couple of blocks from the famous high-fashion boutique Wilkes Bashford, where I shopped while in high school.
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Here’s the backstory. In 1992, I’d been living in New York City for three years and knew it was time to return to San Francisco. So, I got a job at Williams-Sonoma on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, commuting on the subway uptown from my little Greenwich Village apartment. At the time, I took the job knowing I could transfer to their flagship store when I pleased. The customers represented the posh neighborhood with its fancy restaurants and designer shops. One of the highlights of my time at the NYC store was meeting actress Cicely Tyson and showing her around the shop, trying to hide how shocked I was to see her.
When I transferred to San Francisco from the New York store in 1992, the shop was a few blocks from where it sits now. A warm and loving team welcomed me. I made friends I still love and cherish today in the group of young people who worked there. We were a family and enjoyed working together. Soon, with a background in food, I began organizing cooking demonstrations and book signings. I worked with many very well-known chefs and cookbook authors.
At one event, Chuck Williams introduced me to Julia Child. I still smile thinking about all 6’2″ of her towering over me while bumbling a gracious greeting. I helped set up demonstrations for Wolfgang Puck, Marion Cunningham, Joyce Goldstein (whose restaurant Square One I briefly worked at), Vianna La Place, who gifted me a mortar and pestle she brought back from her travels, and so many more amazing chefs.
Last week, as the news broke that the flagship store in Union Square would close after nearly three years of rumors, I felt a deep sense of nostalgia, knowing this place held so many memories for the community and me. I was surprised to see all four floors of merchandise consolidated into one when I visited this past weekend; everything was on sale, stacked in piles on the first floor.
Yet at the same time, it was great to see the largely queer staff and hear about their next adventures after the store’s closure. I restocked my kitchen with some of the food items I have been using for years: Jade Sichuan Peanut Sauce, Dessert Sprinkles for my Cortadillo (Mexican pink cake), Olio Santo Virgin Olive oil, and VSOP 25-Year-Aged Balsamic Vinegar.
One of my co-workers, Mark Cossin, remembers helping open the first Williams-Sonoma store in Hawaii on his 26th birthday, alongside the company’s founder, Chuck Williams — an experience he’ll never forget. He worked for Williams-Sonoma on and off for 12 years, starting as a salesperson out of high school and eventually managing the flagship store in San Francisco.
“Our team was a tight-knit, creative group, spanning generations, and traveling to Hawaii with a small San Francisco crew to open the company’s first store was a defining moment, made even more meaningful by working alongside a true visionary,” Mark recalls today when I spoke to him for this article.
I’ve purchased many kitchen items from Williams-Sonoma over the years. But one of my prize acquisitions was a return I handled from an advanced-aged woman. It was a complete set of never-used Wusthof wood-handled knives she had received as a wedding gift many, many years prior. However, the policy wasn’t to take a return this old, but when I took the box out of her hands, it felt like I was holding a ten-pound diamond. We made an exception, and once I finished with the transaction, I immediately purchased them for myself to add to my collection.
One of my other co-workers, David Bolt, worked for Williams-Sonoma for 22 years. He eloquently recalled: “The ingredients for the store’s success were society gentlemen and ladies, celebrities and politicians, true cooks, and, of course, the ‘characters’. Some of the celebrities I encountered were Rex Reed, Marie Osmond, Alex Trebek, Rita Moreno, Peter Coyote, and Stockard Channing. I was actress Julie Harris’ errand boy for a short time while she was acting on stage in a play. Of course, many, many celebrity chefs. One day, I was alone in the original San Francisco store (everyone had gone to lunch) at 576 Sutter Street, and Julia Child came in, and I was speechless. She buys something like sponges and olive oil. She’s super gracious, engaging, and warm. She leaves with her purchase, and after the staff returns, I tell them who was in the store. No one believes, but I don’t care.”
Chuck Williams was openly gay and a significant advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, co-founding the Williams Institute, a non-profit that researches sexual orientation and gender identity. He founded it alongside his partner, Stu Walter; his attorney, Arnie Kassoy; Bill Rubenstein; and Brad Sears.
Chuck’s contributions continue to make an impact. In 2018, during Pride month, Sister Roma and I battled it off “wig-to-wig” for the Drag Queen Cook-Off event. We cooked in-store, plated, and presented our dishes to the emcee and judges for the title. Proceeds from the event went directly to charity.
I’m proud to say I won the title. Twice!
Thus, it’s hard to accept that after 70 years, the iconic Williams-Sonoma store will no longer exist in San Francisco. Chuck Williams lived to 100 and has been gone for a decade now. The publicly traded company Williams-Sonoma, Inc., has owned it for a couple of decades, and it currently has 151 stores throughout the United States. The memories and experiences shared there, from welcoming customers to hosting renowned chefs, have left a lasting imprint on me and everyone who walked through those doors.
Union Square has changed drastically since I first adventured there in high school. While it has seen some improvements, such as increased foot traffic and reduced crime rates, the overall recovery is complicated, primarily by retail vacancies and the struggling San Francisco Centre Mall. Many businesses continue to face difficulties as people find it easy to shop online.
It’s a bittersweet moment, looking back on the legacy Chuck Williams created and the role the store played in the community.
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