Uniqlo opened a flagship store on Market Street in San Francisco on Friday, filing a long-vacant storefront. The grand opening had people lining up in a part of the city that people have been leaving in the past few years. The new store will occupy a space of 20,000 square feet on Market Street, and it’s a little piece of Japan. Some people were looking to get in and shop, while others looked forward to the local collaborations. The brand’s former location closed in 2021, during the pandemic. It was one of a series of retailers who left the once vibrant shopping corridor. Downtown and Union Square storefronts still have visible vacancies, but signs are increasingly pointing to a turnaround. “It’s really lovely to see things are kind of popping off downtown again, because for a while downtown was a bit of a ghost town, so it’s really nice to see kind of new life back in the city,” Norway resident Aaron Fowler said. Marisa Rodriguez with The Union Square Alliance agrees. “One of the most busy intersections actually here in San Francisco is saying ‘Let’ go, let’s go, San Francisco, we’re open for business, let’s go Union Square. We are here, we are showing we are making our mark ’,” she said. “And short after we are going to start to see openings from a lot more businesses so stay tuned.” The Alliance says it’s just the latest in a series of big wins for one of San Francisco’s most important locations. “We have the Nintendo store, we have Bape, Sherryl MacMullen if you are into really awesome curated fashion, she is on Maiden Lane. We’re starting to see a resurgence of Maiden Lane as well, cafés like Painted Leopard,” Rodriguez said. The new store is expected to create nearly 100 jobs. ...read more read less