San Francisco has reached a troubling milestone as a local store in the city’s notorious Tenderloin district is embroiled in a lawsuit for selling methamphetamine.
The Corner Store, a modest convenience outlet, stands accused of peddling meth, marijuana, illegal tobacco, and drug paraphernalia, according to the lawsuit details obtained by the Daily Mail.
Located just a short distance from the famed Painted Ladies, the Tenderloin neighborhood has earned a reputation as a gritty, downtrodden area that has evolved into a bustling open-air drug market, plagued by users of fentanyl and methamphetamine in recent years.
The investigation into the Corner Store commenced in 2024, following a series of complaints regarding illegal tobacco sales at the establishment, as outlined in the lawsuit.
Subsequently, the city initiated an undercover operation, deploying officials from the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH) to the store.
During the covert operation, a DPH official inquired about the availability of Geek Bar products, which are known for their disposable nicotine vapes, from two store employees, as detailed in the lawsuit filed on Wednesday.
A store associate informed them that they don’t carry that specific brand, but pointed them to other flavored nicotine products, which have been banned in the city since 2018, the filing stated.
After being able to purchase a POD Mesh Chilled Blue Raz vape, the DPH issued three notices of violation against the store – but it was during the next visit that they uncovered 48.1 grams of meth inside the building, the lawsuit said.
The owner of the Corner Store, a small convenience shop in the middle of the Tenderloin, was caught selling meth and other illicit substances, according to a lawsuit filed by the city of San Francisco
The discovery came to light after San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH) officials went undercover at the store, finding that they sold flavored nicotine vapes. They also found glass pipes for sale in the store, per the lawsuit. (Pictured: File photo)
Officers with the San Francisco Police Department, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and DPH agents went back to the store in November 2025.
This time they seized a meth haul, along with ‘4.68lbs of marijuana, a green polymer 80 “ghost gun” handgun, and dozens of illegal tobacco products,’ the suit alleged.
They also discovered glass pipes and small plastic bags inside display cases ‘which were located in an area accessible to minors,’ per the filing.
The city is now demanding that the store shut down for one year and the owners stop selling illegal products.
A judge has also been asked to enforce $25,000 in civil penalties against each of the store’s owners.
‘Unless said nuisance is abated, the residents and citizens of the City and County of San Francisco and the People of California will suffer irreparable injury and damage, in that said conditions will continue to be dangerous to the life, safety or health of those who live and work near Corner Store and the general public,’ the filing stated.
It is unclear when the illegal sales began, but the owner of the shop, Abdulrahman Almedhar, has owned the Corner Store since at least February 2023, the lawsuit, filed by San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, read.
The lawsuit was filed against Almedhar, who owns Discount Market 2 Inc, Karen Trinhi, who leased the property to him, and the Allen Hotel LLC.
Police have also noticed a spike in physical altercations and vandalism near the store in recent years, ABC 7 reported.
48.1lbs of meth was found in the store after agents went back to the store in November 2025
The Tenderloin is commonly known to be a gritty, rundown area of San Francisco that has turned into an open-air drug market filled with fentanyl and meth users in recent years. It is just a 10 minute ride from the iconic Painted Ladies houses (pictured)
Chiu commended all the agencies who worked together to tackle the convenience store issue.
‘There was an undercover Department of Public Health inspector who went in, and we discovered they were selling illegal tobacco products, which led us to think there was more that was going on,’ Chiu told ABC 7.
‘And I want to thank the San Francisco Police Department for then sending officers in to discover the methamphetamine, the illegal tobacco products, cannabis, a ghost gun, drug paraphernalia.’
Chiu said that he and his office have sued or forced 13 other local businesses to shutter their doors in the past year-and-a-half for similar drug-related reasons.
The Daily Mail was unable to reach the Almedhar, Trinhi and the Allen Hotel LLC for comment.
