On Friday afternoon, nearly a dozen people milled around West Elm, a furniture and home decor store in downtown Reno, surrounded by signs advertising a huge going-out-of-business sale.
The sign said “Closed” in all caps, with “40% off” and “All Sale Final” printed in big red letters.
West Elm first opened in Reno in August 2016 and is based in the 1930s former U.S. Main Post Office building at 50 S. Virginia St., a landmark in the retail revitalization of downtown Reno. It caught the attention of the moment.
“Downtown will be unrecognizable within the next three years,” Reno Mayor Hilary Schieve said in an April 2016 RGJ article about West Elm's opening. “It's a testament to downtown. Big retailers don't choose big cities that are in decline. We're being noticed.”
More than five years later, the retail giant has apparently stopped investing in Reno.
West Elm employees told RGJ on Friday that they were instructed not to speak to the media about the closing.
A voicemail left with Bernie Carter, owner of the old post office, which has The Basement on the first floor and office space on the third floor, was not immediately returned for this article.
On a Friday afternoon, the couple was browsing the store's display of rugs and living room furniture sets. Ceramic and glass centerpieces of all shapes and sizes lined the shelves, and the floor was littered with dining sets, stacks of tablecloths, and wine glasses scattered across the many tables.
Large pieces of furniture, including sofas, chairs, and chests of drawers, had yellow notes that read “SOLD.”
Customers in the checkout line had candles and glassware in their baskets.
Shawna Lapiana, assistant manager at Vida Coffee, one of the locally owned retailers, food outlets and other businesses downstairs in The Basement, said West Elm employees are regulars. .
She said she's not worried about her store closing because West Elm is closing.
“I'm very confident in our store,” Lapiana said.
West Elm, which owns more than 100 stores across the U.S. and operates a second store in Henderson, Nevada, is reportedly unaffected by the Reno branch closure.
West Elm is the first major retailer to open in downtown Reno in 30 years. Previously, the last major retailers in downtown Reno were J.C. Penney and Woolworths, both of which closed about 35 years ago.
Kristin Orr is a public safety reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal. Contact her at koh@rgj.com or 775-420-1285. Please support her work by subscribing.
