Nordstrom’s San Francisco flagship, which is located in th heart of the San Francisco Centre mall on Market Street, closed its doors Sunday. According to reports, the mall had been robbed by “flash mobs” at least a dozen times in the past year
The closing was inevitable. According to a report on ABC News, a recent visit captured images of empty display cases and stacks of naked mannequins and interviewed an employee — whose worn black sneakers were the only part of him in the shot to protect his identity — speaking darkly about crime in the city’s once-vibrant shopping district.
The store’s closing has cast into doubt the future of downtown San Francisco. Since the pandemic sent tech workers home by the thousands, with most never to return, foot traffic in the area has plummeted.
Nordstrom isn’t the first store to close, and likely won’t be the last. The retail vacancy rate in the city was 6% in the first quarter of 2023, the highest in the city since 2006, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate services firm.
In announcing the closure of Nordstrom this spring, Jamie Nordstrom, the company’s chief stores officer, said “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.”
Here’s video from one of the recent robberies:
