Nordstrom is set to close both of its stores in downtown San Francisco.
The department store chain said the San Francisco Centre store is slated to close at the end of August and the Market Street Rack store will close up shop after business on July 1. Both stores are located next to each other on Market Street.
"Decisions like this are never easy, and this one has been especially difficult," Jamie Nordstrom, Chief Stores Officer at Nordstrom, 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, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully."
The news hit shoppers like Krystina Coakley hard.
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"I'm so upset,” she said. “I love Nordstrom, I love the Nordstrom Cafe."
The retail giant is leaving SF after 35 years.
"My mom and I used to come down here every weekend, park at the 5th and Mission parking lot, so I have so many memories here,” said Coakley.
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"There is no question that the loss of Nordstrom is a serious blow,” said Supervisor Aaron Peskin.
The announcement comes just weeks after Whole Foods, and Safeway announced closures and at a moment when the city is struggling to refill empty offices downtown and in the Financial District.
Peskin said the news comes as the downtown area has been attempting to make some post-pandemic progress.
"Safety, and cleanliness, and we've put our money where our mouth is, but we have challenges, and we can't deny those challenges, as a matter of fact we have to stop denying those challenges,” he said.
But even as Mayor London Breed released a statement promising a safer shopping experience in the area, police were called to the Nordstrom Rack as NBC Bay Area was filming Tuesday.
"It's really disappointing and a little bit sad, I think that San Francisco is headed in the right direction, we're doing a lot of really good work to clean up our streets, to bring people back to the office, to bring up foot traffic. But it sounds like maybe we didn't do enough, quick enough,” said Daniel Herzstein, director of public policy at the SF Chamber of Commerce.
The stores are expected to shut down by the end of august.
