San Francisco's Union Square welcomed a new tenant Thursday: Nintendo.
The video game giant opened Nintendo SAN FRANCISCO – its second U.S. store – at 331 Powell St. It is one of only two Nintendo stores outside of Japan.
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WATCH HERE"I'm looking forward to just seeing everybody come. I'm hoping people come with more cosplay-like costumes," said Michelle Javier, a Nintendo fan who attended the grand opening.
Many fans dressed up like Nintendo characters or wore their favorite Nintendo gear to the store.
The company said the location will allow customers to experience the world of Nintendo along with its products and characters.
"It’s almost like Disneyland, I mean, you have so many different characters, so many different worlds to explore," noted Darren Stallcup of San Francisco, who said he is a lifelong Nintendo fan.
Along with shopping, the two-story store also features in-store gaming on what is probably the biggest game screen in the city. To shop in the store on Thursday, customers needed to make a reservation and wait in the long lines that snaked down the street and around the block.
Nintendo representatives said the reservation system will continue through the weekend, then on Monday, shopping at the store should be available on a first-come-first-served basis.
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SIGN UP PJ Sadler, who is a senior manager for retail with Nintendo, explained that the company had long wanted to add a West Coast flagship store.
"So when we set out to do this, we looked at all the major cities here on the west coast, and we landed here, one of the most iconic cities, really in the world," Sadler said.
The San Francisco location will be a little different than its New York sibling.
"We're excited with Nintendo SAN FRANCISCO because we're going to be bringing unique goods into the store that have only been seen in Japan," said Devon Pritchard with Nintendo America.
Nintendo representatives explained that they are aiming to draw in customers with unique merchandise. For example, they noted that more than half of the merchandise in the Nintendo SAN FRANCISCO store consists of products customers won't find at stores anywhere else in the U.S. Plus, there are eight Nintendo SAN FRANCISCO-branded products in the store that will only be available at the San Francisco store
The opening of the Nintendo store in San Francisco also represents a kind of consolidation of retailers around Union Square. Many in the area see this new store as a significant addition to the downtown area, which has recently seen the departure of several legacy retailers.
Just steps away from Thursday's long line of eager Nintendo customers was a vacant storefront at Post Street and Powell Street, where clothing company Zara will move into its new, larger retail space.
On nearby Geary Boulevard, clothing retailer John Varvatos will move in after it closes its outlet in the San Francisco Centre mall.
But the shopping district still has a way to go for a full rebound.
Just days ago, Saks Fifth Avenue closed its Union Square store, which had been at that location since 1981. In 2024, Macy's announced plans to close its iconic Union Square store, though that hasn't happened yet. The Bloomingdale's nearby at the San Francisco Centre also closed in 2025.
Along Powell Street, there is still plenty of retail space available for lease.
But for some, it feels like the new Nintendo store is helping to turn that tide.
"I think it will really help the area, because you see how many people it drew just for today, so imagine, like in the future," noted Kailah Thomas of Concord, who went by the store on Thursday with her boyfriend.
"We just love Nintendo, Mario, Zelda, Pikmin, so we’re like, 'we have to come to the opening,'" said Thomas, as she carried bags of pillows, blankets, housewares, and apparel she'd purchased at the store.
As shopping habits continue to change, the hope is that spots like the Nintendo store will be a special reason for shoppers to come to Union Square.
Lydia Jackson, the director of events for nearby Mastro's Steakhouse, said the Nintendo store feels like an important piece in the effort to bring more foot traffic to the area.
"Getting things back up and going is very exciting and Nintendo is gonna be a really big part of that," Jackson said, adding that Zara coming back to Union Square will be another boost.
"We are very excited in Union Square to have businesses come back to the area," she emphasized.
Sadler estimated that the number of people visiting the store on day one was "definitely in the hundreds, if not the thousands."
He noted that some customers even took flights to be there for the opening of the store.
"The response has just been fantastic, it's everything we could have hoped for on our opening day," Sadler said.
