Nordstrom is set to close both of its stores in downtown San Francisco.
The supermarket chain said its San Francisco Center store is set to close at the end of August, and Market Street Rack will close the store after business on July 1. Both stores are located next to each other on Market Street.
“Decisions like these are never easy, and this decision was particularly difficult,” Jamie Nordstrom, Nordstrom’s chief store officer, said in a statement. “We’ve spent more than 35 years serving customers in downtown San Francisco, building relationships with them and investing in the local community. But as many of you know, the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, affecting customer traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.”
The news hit shoppers like Christina Coakley hard.
She said, “I’m so upset. I love Nordstrom, I love Nordstrom Cafe.”
The retail giant is leaving SF after 35 years.
“My mom and I used to come here every weekend, stopping at Fifth Park and Mission Parking, so I have a lot of memories here,” Coakley said.
Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack are leaving downtown San Francisco, and they’re not alone. Since the beginning of the year, many downtown stores have already closed, or will close soon. NBC Bay Area’s Raj Mathai spoke to Daniel Herzstein of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce about the city’s future.
“There’s no question that losing Nordstrom is a serious blow,” said moderator Aaron Peskin.
The announcement comes just weeks after Whole Foods and Safeway announced closures and as the city struggles to refill vacant offices downtown and in the Financial District.
Peskin said the news comes as the downtown area is trying to make some progress post-pandemic.
“Safety and cleanliness, and we’ve put our money where it is, but we have challenges, and we can’t deny those challenges, in fact we have to stop denying those challenges,” he said.
But even as the Mayor of London Breed issued a statement promising a safer shopping experience in the area, police were called to Nordstrom Rack during an NBC Bay Area filming on Tuesday.
“It’s really disappointing and a little sad, I think San Francisco is moving in the right direction, we’re doing a lot of really good work cleaning up our streets, getting people back in the office, getting people back on their feet,” said Daniel Herzstein, director of public policy at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. It feels like we didn’t do enough, fast enough.
Stores are expected to close by the end of August.