AT&T is staging a high-profile return to the heart of downtown San Francisco, with plans to reopen its flagship retail store in the One Powell building at Union Square. The move effectively undoes the telecom giant's 2023 exit and puts another major national brand back on Powell Street, a stretch many see as a bellwether for Union Square's recovery.
AT&T Is Reopening Its Union Square Flagship
According to the San Francisco Business Journal, AT&T plans to bring its flagship retail store back to 1 Powell St. in Union Square. Reporter Alex Barreira notes that the move reverses the carrier's earlier decision to shut down the same prominent corner location.
Backstory: The 2023 Exit
AT&T shuttered the One Powell location in 2023 amid a broader wave of downtown retail departures, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. At the time, an AT&T spokesperson told SFGATE that “consumer shopping habits continue to change,” a rationale the company offered for walking away from the heavily trafficked cable car corner.
One Powell's Retail History
The One Powell building, originally a Bank of Italy-era corner at the cable car turnaround, was transformed into a sprawling, experiential AT&T showroom when the company opened a flagship there in 2016. In its announcement at the time, AT&T described roughly 24,000 square feet of space filled with interactive displays and multi-level exhibits, positioning the store as a high-profile experiment in large-format, hands-on retail. The company's original release laid out the concept in detail.
Part Of A Broader Downtown Comeback
AT&T's return lines up with a series of moves that city officials and real estate watchers have pointed to as evidence of renewed leasing momentum on Powell Street. The San Francisco Chronicle has detailed the city's Vacant to Vibrant program and the return or replacement of several national tenants, which officials and brokers say are helping lure shoppers back to Union Square. A reopened One Powell would be an early test of whether large-format flagships can claw back a meaningful place in the downtown retail mix.
What To Watch Next
No firm opening date or lease specifics have been made public yet. Local merchants, real estate observers and city officials will be watching to see whether a revived AT&T at One Powell helps restore steady tourist and shopper foot traffic to that corner, and whether other legacy flagships decide to follow its lead.
