The Williams-Sonoma Union Square store will close in 2024, the retailer confirmed Friday afternoon.
After its closure, San Francisco will be without a Williams-Sonoma unless the kitchenware and home goods retailer decides to relocate the store within the city.
Store employees, who The Standard is not identifying to protect them from potential retaliation for speaking without authorization, said the building would become a Chanel store in the future.
Employees told The Standard that Chanel staffers occasionally visit the Post Street store.
“Like once a month,” an employee said. “They’d come in all black, with a pin that says Chanel and take photos.”
The building at 340 Post St. was purchased by French luxury brand Chanel in December 2021 for $63 million, according to the Business Times. The purchase was confirmed by Williams-Sonoma.
Chanel did not respond to requests for comment as of publication.
The Williams-Sonoma store opened in 1993 and spans 19,774 square feet across four floors and a basement, according to property records. The top floor includes a cooking school.
The first San Francisco Williams-Sonoma store opened in 1956 near Union Square.
Williams-Sonoma is one of many stores that have left or plan to leave Union Square, with several of them blaming street conditions and reduced foot traffic.
News of the retailer’s closure comes after Nordstrom announced it would close both of its Downtown San Francisco locations. Whole Foods announced the closure of its flagship store at Market and Eighth streets in early April—just one year after it opened—citing deteriorating conditions locally.