A Walgreens location in Downtown San Francisco is set to shutter for good next month.
Signage posted at the store at 275 Sacramento St. states that the drugstore will cease operations on Feb. 27 and directs customers to the 300 Montgomery St. location instead. A Walgreens associate who was not permitted to speak with the press confirmed the imminent closure, citing Downtown's low foot traffic—but not crime—as the reason.
The Montgomery Street location is only four blocks away.
This is hardly the neighborhood's first Walgreens to disappear. A store at 500 Geary St. near Union Square closed last fall, not long after locations at 141 Kearny St. and 88 Spear St. closed. A Walgreens at 825 Market St., the site of a high-profile 2023 fatal shooting involving alleged shoplifter Banko Brown, who was unarmed, closed and later reopened.
Rival CVS has all but exited the neighborhood entirely, with at least four stores closing since 2022 alone. The nearest CVS is now at 701 Van Ness Ave., a considerable distance.
Reached for comment, a Walgreens spokesperson confirmed the Feb. 27 date, adding that several factors were taken into account in the decision, including consumer habits and the company's existing footprint of stores.
Unlike the many Walgreens that are open 24 hours, the 275 Sacramento store keeps relatively short hours, closing by 8 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. on Saturdays. It is also closed entirely on Sundays.
This story has been updated with a comment from Walgreens.