Downtown Reno luxury furniture, home décor store West Elm is closing

Nearly a dozen people wandered through West Elm, the furniture and home décor store in downtown Reno, on Friday afternoon surrounded by signs advertising a massive going-out-of-business sale.

“Store closing,” the signs read in all caps — “40% off” and “all sales final” were printed in big, red letters.

West Elm first opened in Reno in August 2016, making its home in the 1930s-era former Main U.S. Post Office building at 50 S. Virginia St. in a move heralded as a landmark moment for the revitalization of retail in downtown Reno.

“You’re not going to recognize downtown in the next three years,” Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve said in an April 2016 RGJ story about West Elm’s opening. “It’s a testament to downtown. Big retailers don’t pick big cities that are on the decline. We’re being noticed.”

More than five years later, that big retailer is apparently pulling the plug on its Reno investment.

A West Elm employee told the RGJ Friday she was instructed not to speak to media about the store closing.

Voicemails left with Bernie Carter, owner of the old post office that’s also home to The Basement on the first floor and office space on the third, were not immediately returned for this story.

On Friday afternoon, couples browsed through the rugs and living room furniture sets displayed throughout the store. Ceramic and glass centerpieces of various shapes and sizes lined the shelves, while dining sets, bundles of tablecloths and wine glasses littered the many tables on the floor.

Larger pieces of furniture, like sofas, chairs and chests of drawers, had yellow notes on them, declaring: “Sold.”

Customers standing in the checkout line had candles and glassware in their baskets.

Shawnna Lapiana, assistant manager at Vida Coffee — one of several locally owned retail shops, food vendors and other businesses housed in The Basement downstairs — said West Elm employees are regulars.

She said she’s not concerned 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 locations across the U.S., operates a second Nevada location in Henderson, which will reportedly not be affected by the Reno branch closure.

West Elm was the first major retailer to open in downtown Reno in 30 years. Previously, the last major retail stores in downtown Reno were JCPenney and Woolworths, which both closed about 35 years ago.

Kristin Oh is a public safety reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal. She can be reached at [email protected] or at 775-420-1285  Please help support her work by subscribing.