Cinemark, Westfield closures latest in string of bad news
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The troubles for San Francisco’s beleaguered downtown continued this week with the news Monday that Westfield would be pulling out from operating SF’s biggest mall and that one of the mall’s tenants, the Cinemark Century SF Centre 9 theater will go dark this week. This one-two punch is just the latest in a series of blows to the city’s struggling downtown.
Westfield has owned and operated the San Francisco Centre on Market Street for over 20 years. The retail chain, which is based in France, cited “challenging operating conditions” and other now-familiar factors as reasons for forfeiting on its loan for the SF mall.
This week’s news from Westfield follows an announcement last month, that the mall’s anchor tenant, Nordstrom, would be closing its flagship store at the mall, along with a nearby Nordstrom Rack location.
Westfield and Nordstrom cited factors that have become all-too-familiar following a string of announced retail closures in downtown SF.
Elon Musk has blamed it on “woke mind virus,” but businesses have cited shoplifting, deteriorating street conditions, working-from-home, reduced foot traffic, and a shift toward online shopping as the main contributors to the demise of SF’s once-thriving downtown-Union Square retail district.
With San Francisco’s tech-driven economy, fewer workers have returned to the office, leading to a downtown recovery that’s last in the nation, according to some studies.
Here is a list of businesses in downtown San Francisco that have closed, or announced they will close, in recent months.
Nordstrom
Early last month, Nordstrom announced it would be closing its two downtown San Francisco locations. The retailer announced it would not be renewing the lease on its flagship store at San Francisco Centre, or at a nearby Nordstrom Rack location on Market Street. The company cited the changing “dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market” as reason for the closures.
Whole Foods
About a month before the Nordstrom announcement, Whole Foods closed its mid-Market location — just a year after it had opened. At the time of its opening in March of 2022, Whole Foods, which is owned by Amazon, called the mid-Market location its “flagship store.” However, according to SF Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who represents the area, the store was plagued with problems that included “drug-related retail theft, adjacent drug markets, and the many safety issues related to them.”
Parc 55 and the Hilton
Last week, the investment firm that owns two of downtown San Francisco’s major hotels — The Hilton San Francisco Union Square and the Parc 55 San Francisco — announced it would surrender the properties to the bank. Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. said it would cease payments toward the $725 million non-recourse loan. “San Francisco’s path to recovery remains clouded and elongated by major challenges,” the company said in a press release.
Old Navy
In late May, Gap Inc. announced it would be closing its iconic Old Navy store located on Market Street, just a block or so away from the Westfield mall. The store had first opened in the 1990s. “We are already working to identify new locations in downtown San Francisco that will better serve the needs of the business and our customers,” a Gap Inc. spokesperson told KRON4, without going into the specifics behind the closure.
Cole Hardware
Longtime South of Market neighborhood business Cole Hardware announced plans to close its 9th Street location last month. Store officials cited declining revenue and increased operating costs since the outset of the pandemic, and a pivot to online shopping as reasons behind the closing. “Amazon will survive without you,” said owner Rick Karp. “Your favorite neighborhood shops may not.”
Cinemark
Just days after Westfield announced it would be pulling out of the SF Centre, mall-tenant Cinemark announced it would be shutting down the Century San Francisco Centre 9 and XD theater this week.
What happens next?
City leaders have floated a variety of solutions for SF’s ailing downtown, including retail pop-ups, event activations and even converting retail or office space into housing. But as Park Hotels & Resorts Inc., the company that until recently owned and operated two of the city’s major hotels said, downtown SF’s path to recovery seems to remain “clouded.”
Source: KRON4
