It’s no secret that SF’s downtown mall, formally called Westfield Center, has had an interesting year. Many stores have closed in the mall, causing San Franciscans to wonder about the fate of the shopping center. A notable closure last year was when Nordstrom decided to close their massive department store in the shopping center, and many other retailers followed suit.
There’s been speculations and ideas swirling around the shopping center for the past year. Mayor London Breed even floated the idea of tearing it down and replacing it with a soccer stadium last summer. But it looks like, for now, the mall has decided to rebrand instead. The mall was formally called Westfield Center, now San Francisco Center, and soon, the new name will be Emporium Centre.
The name is a reference to the mall’s history, which was originally called the Emporium when it first opened in 1896 and operated under the name for 100 years. At the same time, many stores have left the shopping center recently, including Madwell, Adidas, Lucky Brand, and more. There are still many major retailers that remain in the mall, including Bloomingdales, Coach, Aritzia, and Zara, among others.
While what else the rebrand has in store is unclear, the new name is a notable change for the shopping center. In other shopping news, Macy’s recently announced mass store closures, including the Union Square location. The SF store is not in the initial rounds of closures and will continue to operate throughout 2024. Other major retail stores are located just a short distance from the newly named Emporium Centre, including luxury stores and luxury department store Neiman Marcus. While SF’s shopping landscape is changing, there’s still plenty of great places for a little retail therapy in the downtown area.