Paint, lumber, tiaras: Cliff's Variety celebrates 90 years of being the go to store in the Castro

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Walk into Cliff's Variety and it won't be long before you hear the store's favorite expression.

"If we don't have it, you don't need it," exclaimed Terry Asten Bennett, the store's co-owner.

Cliff's Variety has been the go-to store on Castro Street for 90 years.

It has been in Terry Asten Bennett's family for five generations.

It was founded in 1936 by her great, great grandfather, Hilario DeBaca. He sold used greeting cards and magazines.

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"It was the Depression era so they would use ink eradicator to take the writing out of greeting cards," recalled Asten Bennett.

Hilario's son, Ernie, was a tinkerer. When he joined the store, they expanded to hardware and eventually moved into the original Castro Theater building.

"I started working here in 1968," said Martha Asten, Terry's mom and co-owner.

She married Ernie's son, also named Ernie, and took over the bookkeeping.

"My husband died here. His grandfather died here. His great grandfather probably died in the business too. I doubt I'll retire. I'll probably just die on the job," joked Asten.

Cliff's Variety is as family run as a business can be and community oriented.

It started the original Halloween celebration in the Castro.

"We'd have the pie eating contest and then the costume contest for kids," said Asten.

Over the years, the neighborhood started to change. Families started to move to the suburbs, and the burgeoning gay community started to move in.

What Cliff's Variety stocked on the shelves started to grow.

"We have paint, we have light bulbs, we have plumbing parts, electrical," said Asten Bennett. "But we also have drag queen eyelashes and drag queen shoes and wigs and shower curtains."

Paul Ellis is one of five employees who have been working at the store for over 30 years.

He manages the annex where the shelves are stocked with anything from feather boas to colorful fabrics.

"We like to say if we don't have it, you don't need it. And with a database that's got over 260,000 items, that's pretty close to true," said Ellis.

The annex still has one of the original carrousels built by Terry's great, great grandfather to make better use of limited space.

"It's just grown and morphed with the needs and desires of the neighborhood. What do we need? Well, we need blingy stuff, so we have blingy stuff. We need snarky socks. We have snarky socks," said Asten Bennett.

You'll also find classic lunchpails, rows of toys and board games, costume jewelry and tiaras. All right next to the lumber and plaster ceiling medallions.

There's even stuff you didn't know you needed.

"Cliffs is a fabulous store. They have these incredible hand creams packaged in a way that I can carry them in my purse. I'm about to go on a trip. It is exactly what I needed, and I didn't even know about it. So, yay Cliffs," said Meredith Williams, a frequent customer.

Cliff's Variety was close to turning into another chain store.

In 1988, Sav-on Drugs offered to buy it for $5 million, but after some soul searching, Asten-Bennett, who was just out of college at the time, decided to take over from her parents.

"When I thought about the Castro without the store, it was this innately wrong feeling. The community is what keeps the store going. They're my livelihood," she recalled.

Cliff's Variety hired openly gay employees when other businesses didn't.

It continues to embrace the community.

Their 90th anniversary merchandise turned the original bag design into chest hair on a hunky, shirtless man.

"I've always been shy about selling our merch. I was like, who would want to wear our stuff, and this just has exploded. It's been amazing," said Asten Bennett as she showed off a t-shirt bearing the new logo.

Cliff's commemorates its 90th birthday on Saturday, June 6, with a huge celebration in front of its store.

The event will have music, a drag show and a Cliff's Man contest.