Iconic Mall Staple Closure Signals Further Challenges for San Francisco

A once-bustling shopping hub in the Bay Area has claimed another casualty, leaving its patrons dismayed. The latest closure at the Shops at Tanforan is none other than the beloved bookseller, Barnes & Noble, following on the heels of last year’s JCPenney shutdown. This trend is deepening the mall’s decline and further diminishing its appeal.

Currently, only a handful of establishments remain operational at the Shops at Tanforan. Among them are a jewelry store, a bridal boutique, and a cell phone outlet. Despite the dwindling number of retailers, a few mainstays like Target, Starbucks, and Chipotle continue to serve the local community.

On social media, Barnes & Noble shared the news that it will close its San Bruno store on May 2, marking the end of its lease and a two-decade-long chapter in the neighborhood. The announcement was met with a sense of loss among loyal customers who cherished the bookstore’s presence.

“It is with great sadness that we confirm the closure of our Barnes & Noble bookstore as our lease has ended,” read the statement. “We have loved being a part of this neighborhood, and it has been our honor and privilege to be your bookseller for the last 20 years.”

‘It is with great sadness that we confirm the closure of our Barnes & Noble bookstore as our lease has ended,’ the statement said. ‘We have loved being a part of this neighborhood, and it has been our honor and privilege to be your bookseller for the last 20 years.’

The San Bruno storefront has been at this location for more than 20 years, making it a staple in the community. The mall itself originally opening in the 1970s, and has since fallen into disarray according to shoppers.

‘I’d never set foot in a truly ‘dead’ mall before visiting Tanforan the other day,’ one Reddit user said. ‘It was a weird feeling.’

‘Sad to see it go,’ another Reddit user wrote. ‘My parents would leave me in the Barnes & Noble children’s section for an hour or two before we would have pho and whatever dessert store was open right across. Special part of my childhood right there.’

The Shops at Tanforan in San Bruno, California, currently have a Barnes & Noble location, but it will close by May 2026.

Some of the biggest retailers at The Shops at Tanforan include Target and Cinemark Century at Tanforan and XD. Sears and JCPenney has since shuttered.

Not all Barnes & Noble locations are suffering the same fate – the bookseller has seen an increase in sales across the board, making this closure stand out during a time of growth. 

As of 2024, the company’s CEO confirmed it moved past its ‘difficult phase,’ punctuated by COVID. In 2025, Barnes & Noble opened over 60 new stores across the US, including some locations in California.   

The San Bruno area is a suburb south of San Francisco – and is generally considered one of the safer neighborhoods in the Bay Area. 

The Tanforan Mall losing its luster, however, follows a nationwide pattern of shopping centers closing.

Despite the holiday season, two New Jersey malls were reportedly slowly dying – Livingston Mall and Hamilton Mall. One of Rhode Island’s oldest indoor shopping centers was repurposed into affordable micro-lofts in response to demand for more urban housing. 

The US has an estimated 1,200 malls and by 2028, there could be as few as 900 still operating, according to Capital One’s Shopping Research.

The San Francisco Centre, formerly known as the Westfield Mall, was left ‘eerily empty’ after 93 percent of its storefronts closed. 

The mall, valued at $1.2 billion about a decade ago, officially foreclosed in November 2025, citing customers’ preference towards online shopping post-pandemic and surging crime in downtown San Francisco.

Barnes and Noble in Union Square in New York is one of the bookseller’s largest locations.

Barnes & Noble is the largest retail bookseller in the United States (stock image)

San Francisco as a whole built a reputation for being ‘dangerous,’ making it difficult for retailers to find and keep their footing.

Crime and homelessness led several retailers to shutter in Union Square area. At the time, Nordstrom Rack released a statement saying, ‘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.’  

Only recently have AT&T and luxury fashion reseller the RealReal opened storefronts in the area, leading some to believe the downtown area may be turning a corner.

There is another Barnes & Noble location located in Emeryville – about a 30 minute drive from San Bruno. There are also more niche bookstores located nearby, including San Francisco’s Dog Eared Books and City Lights Booksellers & Publishers.