The case of San Francisco’s stolen Spice Girls poster

Last Friday, a San Francisco arcade patron wanted to spice up their life so badly they resorted to theft.

On Saturday morning, an employee of Free Gold Watch, a screenprinting shop and arcade in Cole Valley, noticed a big problem in the restroom. Something didn’t smell quite right — and it didn’t have anything to do with the toilet.

For several years, the tiny pink bathroom had one notable decoration: a vintage Spice Girls poster from the iconic girl group’s 1998 performance at Shoreline Amphitheatre. The show took place several months after Ginger Spice’s departure from the group, so it only featured four spices: Sporty, Scary, Baby and Posh. But after a particularly busy Friday night, Ginger wasn’t the only one missing.

The poster had been stolen. And it wasn’t the first time.

One night back in 2018, the original tattered version of the mosaic-style poster disappeared. The local artist behind the work, Jason Mecier, caught wind of the theft via Instagram and gave the arcade a fresh replacement.

Following the first theft, owner Matthew Henri would be more careful.

“The whole thing was encased behind plexiglass. It wasn’t the same security as the Mona Lisa or anything, but for the ladies’ room here at Free Gold Watch, we thought it was sufficient,” Henri told SFGATE. “Obviously we were mistaken.”

The plexiglass was affixed to the wall with tamper-resistant security screws, which, for five years, were enough to keep the thieves at bay.

“I’m curious to know if it’s the same thief who stole the first one and the second — if they came back for more, or if this is two isolated incidents? It’s going to be under investigation,” Henri said.

The design of the bathroom itself was intended to ward off bad actors. Although an all-gender restroom, it was painted pink and labeled “Ladies Room” with hopes of deterring graffiti, instilling a sense of decorum and celebrating girl power. Regardless of these measures, Henri believes the burglar removed one of the screws with a special tool, then slipped the poster from behind the glass, making off with a rare piece of artwork — which resells for about $120 online.

“I have yet to dust it for prints. That should’ve been the first thing I did,” he said regretfully.

After the thief got what they wanted (what they really, really wanted), it is presumed that they snuck out of the bar under the cover of a busy crowd of customers milling around the arcade’s 60 pinball machines (Godzilla and Venom machines currently being the most popular). “Nothing was caught on camera,” said Henri.

No one yelled, “Stop.” Or “Who Do You Think You Are.” Or “zigga-zig, ah.”

In addition to the shock of the missing poster, Henri was surprised by another development. The poster’s removal revealed something hidden behind it. For a moment Henri thought it might be a clue, a calling card left by the thief in the style of the fictitious Wet Bandits from “Home Alone” (whose tracks would’ve likely been covered up by the next bathroom patron). Instead of a running faucet, Henri found a Polaroid photo.

But the trail went cold once he saw who was in the photo — two of his friends who had hid the picture there back in 2018.

Now in the place of the poster, Henri has hung up printouts that declare a no-questions-asked reward for its return.

“I hope they’ll come to their senses and realize they made a big mistake. And if they want to make a quick 100 bucks, they could just bring it back. The thief could actually earn that money and not have to deal with the dirty deed, the dirty sale of stolen property,” he said.

If it isn’t returned, Henri vowed that the poster will be replaced and the bathroom made even more secure.

“Now we’ve got to beef up security,” he said.