Another retailer is being forced to flee our decaying blue cities, as Nordstrom has announced they are closing both of their San Francisco locations as conditions in the city continue to degrade.
With the rise of crime and homelessness, the downtown area is becoming unbearable. The Westfield San Francisco Centre will close in August, while another smaller store across the street will close on the first day of July. It is a sad state of affairs as a once beautiful city continues to decay in real time before our eyes.
Jamie Nordstrom, the company’s chief stores officer, said this according to the Daily Wire: “Decisions like this are never easy, and this one has been especially difficult. 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.”
Who can blame them or any other retailer for leaving? No one wants to walk in a downtown area to shop when they are stepping over needles and human feces and may get assaulted or worse at any moment. Additionally, crime and homelessness hurt the law-abiding citizens that just want to work, shop, and live.
Nordstrom joins the exit from San Francisco, due to “rampant criminal activity,” following the closure of Whole Foods, Walgreens and other stores similar reasons.
If you live near SF, what is it like now compared to 5 years ago? pic.twitter.com/LY9hZxYb1Z
— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) May 3, 2023
As democrats called for defunding the police after 2020, including Mayor London Breed, crime has spiked, arrests have plummeted, and the results of bad policy can plainly be seen. Many major red cities suffer from the same bad policy that San Francisco is, as defunding the police was one of the worst, most destructive movements in modern history.
Nordstrom plans to increase their presence in the Bay area, just not in San Francisco proper. Other retailers like Whole Foods, Walgreens, and corporations, including Oracle and Tesla, have fled San Francisco and California in general for more tax-friendly locations with less crime.
"*" indicates required fields
Business owners, including a spokesperson for the Westfield Mall where the closing Nordstrom’s are located, have voiced their concern: “We have urged the city to find solutions to the key issues and lack of enforcement against rampant criminal activity,” the spokesperson added. “The current environment is not sustainable for the community, or businesses, and we are hopeful the city will implement the changes that are so urgently needed.”
These complaints have largely fallen on deaf ears, and businesses are fleeing the city en mass. The Whole Foods locations closed due to the large amount of open-air drug use outside their store.
It isn’t just drug use, either. In recent years, criminals no longer even bother to try to hide their theft. So-called “smash and grab” crime has skyrocketed. Often store security, if there is any, can only sit idly by. They are either overwhelmed by the numbers or afraid of repercussions if they attempt to stop any thieves.
It is a shocking, sad state of affairs. Our large, democrat-run cities are becoming unlivable, and you certainly shouldn’t risk visiting or vacationing. Until change comes from the top down, it is only going to get worse, and more businesses will be gone.