The spiral escalators are still there. Those iconic, curving paths of steel and glass that once defined the high-water mark of American retail now mostly hum in silence, carrying nobody. If you walk into the San Francisco Centre today, the air feels different—thicker, maybe, and definitely quieter. It’s a ghost mall.
Honestly, the speed of the collapse caught even the cynics off guard. We’re talking about a 1.5 million-square-foot behemoth that was valued at $1.2 billion just a decade ago. Now? It’s basically a "blank slate" according to the banks that recently seized it. The food court, once a humid, loud, and profitable jungle of international flavors, has effectively vanished.
The Last Stand of the Food Court
It’s been a brutal few months. For a while, it was a weird game of musical chairs where the music never started back up. One day you’d go in and the Jamba Juice was gone. Then the next, Blondie’s Pizza—a literal institution for quick slices—had pulled the plug.
By the end of 2025, the San Francisco Centre restaurant closures reached a tipping point that felt more like an eviction than a choice. Shake Shack, the burger giant that usually thrives in high-traffic urban hubs, officially shuttered its basement location on December 18, 2025. When a brand with that kind of footprint decides to bail, you know the ship isn't just leaking; it’s under the waves.
Then there was Panda Express. For a hot minute, it was the "last man standing." Seeing people eat orange chicken in a 95% vacant mall was a surreal experience. But as of January 13, 2026, even that flame has flickered out. The mall's current owners—a consortium led by Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase—basically hit the reset button. They issued notices that extinguished existing leases, essentially clearing the deck so they can sell the building to someone with a fresh vision.
Why the Kitchens Went Cold
You’ll hear a lot of noise about why this happened. Some people blame "the doom loop." Others point to the rise of remote work. The truth is a messy cocktail of both, plus a dash of bad timing.
- The Anchor Effect: When Nordstrom packed up in 2023, the mall lost its heartbeat. When Bloomingdale’s followed suit in early 2025, it lost its lungs. Restaurants in malls don't survive on "destination diners"; they survive on foot traffic from people who came to buy jeans and stayed for a taco. No jeans, no tacos.
- The Delivery Trap: By mid-2025, several of the remaining food vendors were barely serving walk-in customers. Their business had shifted almost entirely to e-bike delivery drivers. Think about that: a massive, multi-million dollar real estate asset acting as a glorified ghost kitchen for DoorDash. It was never going to last.
- Safety and Perception: It’s no secret that the area around 5th and Market has struggled. Whether the reality was as bad as the headlines or not, the perception kept the big spenders away. American Eagle even sued the mall’s receivers at one point, claiming the building wasn't being maintained and was overrun with "vermin and crime." Hard to sell a $15 burger in that environment.
A List of the Departed
If you haven't been in a while, the list of closures is staggering. It's not just the big names. It’s the small, family-owned spots that actually gave the place some soul.
- Mashaallah Halal Pakistani Food: Owner Mohammad Waqar compared the mall's final days to "taking off the ventilator from a dead body." He’s moved to a new spot on 5th Street, but the mall location is history.
- Umai Savory Hot Dogs & Fires of Brazil: Both vanished over the summer of 2025.
- Wetzel’s Pretzels & Sarku Japan: These were the staples of the "lower" food court. Both shuttered in October 2025.
- Mija Cochinita & Izzy & Wooks: Two more causalities of the summer exodus.
It wasn't just a slow decline. It was a mass migration.
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What Actually Comes Next?
The mall isn't going to be a mall anymore. That much is clear. The banks bought it at auction for a measly $133 million—a fraction of its former glory—specifically to flip it.
There are wild ideas floating around City Hall. A soccer stadium? A satellite campus for a university? A massive AI tech hub? All are on the table because the building is now officially empty. The last few retail holdouts, like GNC and Samsonite, were cleared out this month alongside the final food vendors.
San Francisco isn't "dying," despite what the internet tells you. Places like Stonestown Galleria are actually doing okay. But the era of the giant, inward-facing urban mall at 865 Market Street is dead.
Actionable Steps for the Displaced Diner
If you’re someone who actually enjoyed the convenience of the Centre, or if you’re a local wondering where to support the people who got squeezed out:
- Follow the Relocations: Many of the mall's best vendors didn't quit; they just moved. Mashaallah is now at 315 Fifth St. Blondie's Pizza has other footprints in the city. Check their social media before assuming your favorite spot is gone forever.
- Support Union Square Proper: While the mall is dark, the surrounding streets are seeing a weirdly quiet "mini-recovery." Smaller, street-facing bistros need the foot traffic that used to get swallowed by the mall’s basement.
- Watch the CBRE Listing: If you’re a business owner or an investor, the building is being marketed as a "blank slate" starting this month. This is the first time in decades that over a million square feet of prime SF real estate has been truly up for grabs for a non-retail use.
The lights might be out at the food court, but the space itself is too valuable to stay dark forever. We’re just waiting to see who has the guts to turn them back on.