Not such a long time ago in a galaxy called San Francisco, the only “Star Wars” gift shop in town required a special escort into Lucasfilm’s Presidio headquarters.
That changed in early February with the public opening of the Skywalker Ranch General Store, which is already proving to be a pilgrimage for “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” fans.
Just a short walk from the Yoda Fountain next to the Presidio Starbucks, the tightly curated store has a fair share of “Star Wars” merch but is a far cry from a toy shop.
The first thing you see upon entering isn’t the $2,000 replica Darth Vader helmet but rather a room full of wine from grapes grown at the exclusive Skywalker Ranch estate in Marin County, plus satellite vineyards in Italy and France.
The price point begins at $30 for bottles, many of which are adorned with a winged figure that was the original inspiration for the Skywalker name. Although the wines are available online, they’re not traditionally available via retail outlets. Scoring entry to the actual Skywalker Ranch compound is nearly impossible, adding an allure that’s particularly attractive to tourists.
“We had a Japanese tourist in yesterday that bought a rolling suitcase to take back a case of wine,” said Skywalker Ranch executive director of hospitality Tom Johnson. He said that some tourists have told them that visiting the gift shop was their sole reason for coming to San Francisco.
The shop features an extensive array of Skywalker Ranch-branded clothing available to the public for the first time, ranging from hat and button-down collabs with local companies like Bart Bridge and Roark to a wide array of patches. It also offers all-over-print “Star Wars” bomber jackets, but the coolest wearable items in the store are definitely the “Indiana Jones” replica pieces, which include Indy’s signature hat and leather jacket.
“We reached out to the company that did the original ‘Indiana Jones’ jacket,” said Johnson, who owns an Indy hat. “They do props and jackets for movie companies in London. And so I opened up the original jacket that’s in the archives, found out who made it, called them, and then they created this jacket for us.” It retails for a cool $550.
As far as official “Star Wars” merch goes, there’s a nice selection of plush Ewoks and Jawas, plus classic action figure sets and posable Mandalorian and Grogu wooden figurines.
The Dejarik Board Game is one of the deeper cuts. The selection of “Star Wars”-related cookbooks is surprisingly robust, part of an extensive library of signed books ranging from oversized tomes showcasing the making of the original trilogy films to a creature encyclopedia of the franchise’s bestiary.
Want to eat a Millennium Falcon-shaped waffle? The store has got you covered with a wide array of waffle makers (and “Star Wars” aprons in case you make a mess). For those who are more into cocktails than wine, it boasts an extensive line of Lucasfilm-themed Tiki mugs (the Sarlacc Pit punch bowl is a standout) and a selection of water bottles and tumblers inspired by characters like R2-D2 and C-3PO.
The most impressive wares are hidden in a back room filled with high-priced collectibles like the aforementioned Darth helmet. Replica lightsabers are hot items, as are Spanish-made porcelain Lladró collectibles like a rosy-cheeked Grogu priced at $445. But the best-selling collectibles are the smaller crystal figurines created by the jewelry company Swarovski, like a 5-inch X-wing spaceship made from 774 crystal facets that retails for $550.
“Once you collect one, you have to keep going. So we have people that are building out one Darth Vader and seven stormtroopers on their mantle,” Johnson said.
A cosplayer poses as an imperial Shock Trooper from Star Wars during the MCM Comic Con in Hanover, Germany. Fans of the cult sci-fi franchise are now flocking to a San Francisco shop dedicated to George Lucas films. Sebastian Gollnow / dpa