Nintendo Opens Flagship Store in SF’s Union Square

Nintendo has opened its first West Coast store in San Francisco’s Union Square, giving a boost to the struggling luxury retail district.

The Japan-based video game and console firm known for its Mario and Pokémon series has opened the doors of a 9,000-square-foot store at 331 Powell Street, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

The two-floor flagship in the Westin St. Francis hotel building follows Nintendo New York, which opened in 2005, and stores in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. It’s not clear why the company waited two decades to open a second U.S. shop.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, Nintendo officials and business people from around Union Square christened the opening.

The new store was such a big deal for San Francisco that it shut down the block in front of the hotel, which hung a giant Nintendo flag beneath billboards for the store towering over the plaza, as dozens of shoppers lined up next to a marching parade of Nintendo characters.

“We love the fact that it’s in Union Square,” PJ Sadler, longtime manager for Nintendo New York, said. “We love the fact of the foot traffic and the ability to attract tourists and locals.”

Terms of a Nintendo San Francisco lease with the owner of the hotel, China-based Dajia Insurance Group, were not disclosed.

Union Square got another boost last month when Bulgari retained its presence at a smaller, 3,500-square-foot store at the Hastings Building at 206 Grant Avenue. And Zara, which a year ago announced it would abandon Union Square, has inked a lease for a four-story flagship store at 400 Post Street, slated to open next year.

The retail announcements, however, come after a parade of luxury retail stores pulled out of the famous shopping district.

The corridor leading up from the cable car turnaround to the store in Union Square plaza is now filled with “eyesore vacancies,” and is the subject of city-funded improvements, according to the Business Times.

Last month, Saks Fifth Avenue announced it would close its Union Square store at 384 Post Street, after shifting to an appointment-only model after 44 years on the block.

It will follow other high-profile retailer departures, including Bloomingdale’s and the soon-to-depart Macy’s, in addition to Uniqlo, H&M, North Face, DSW and Walgreens. Nordstrom, which once anchored the nearby San Francisco Centre mall, packed up in 2023.

— Dana Bartholomew