Downtown San Francisco has last another retail giant, Nordstrom, which will be closing both of its stores as the city continues to be plagued by soaring crime.
According to a memo from Chief Stores Officer Jamie Nordstrom to employees, the company has decided not to renew its leases for its San Francisco Centre Nordstrom store and the Market Street Rack store.
“We’ve spent more than 35 years serving customers in downtown San Francisco, building relationships with them and investing in the local community,” Nordstrom wrote.
“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 San Francisco Centre location will close at the end of August, and the Market Street Rack will close on July 1.
Both stores have a combined total of 357,500 square feet of retail space.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, the owner of the Westfield mall, told the San Francisco Standard that such closures “underscores the deteriorating situation in Downtown San Francisco.”
A spokesperson for the mall added:
“A growing number of retailers and businesses are leaving the area due to the unsafe conditions for customers, retailers, and employees, coupled with the fact that these significant issues are preventing an economic recovery of the area.”
The statement continued:
[Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield] has actively engaged with city leaders for many years to express our serious concerns, which are shared by our customers and retailers. We have urged the city to find solutions to the key issues and lack of enforcement again.”
The news comes not long after San Francisco flagship Whole Foods retail store closed after just a year due to 568 emergency calls over 13 months amid soaring crime in the city.
Incidents included vagrants starting fights, throwing food, and defecating on the floor.
Twenty retailers have closed stores in the Union Square area since 2020, The Standard reports.
Last month, CashApp founder Bob Lee was fatally stabbed in the streets of San Fransisco, while former fire commissioner Don Carmignani was recently beaten over the head with a pipe by a vagrant.
Last October, The Daily Fetched reported that commuters were resorting to arming themselves with baseball bats and stun guns due to droves of violent drug addicts.
Residents of the SoMa, in northeast San Francisco, said the recent opening of the SoMa RISE drug sobering center, which opened in June, has plagued the neighborhood, making it unsafe.
Residents say the center, which aims to temper drug usage, has done nothing but draw heavy users to the neighborhood.
Residents said the influx of drug users had brought soaring crime, making the neighborhood more dangerous, Fox News reported.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed touted the center as a safe haven for addicts looking to rebuild their lives.
But according to SoMa resident and business owner Mark Sackett, the reality of the center in the neighborhood is much different.
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Liberals ruin everything they touch.