WALNUT CREEK, CA — One of the outdoor industry’s most recognizable retailers is preparing to open a new storefront at Broadway Plaza.
The North Face is relocating within the Walnut Creek shopping center, taking over the former White House Black Market space at 78 Broadway Lane. Broadway Plaza now lists the store as “Coming Soon,” while local reporting indicates the move is planned for this fall.
An exact opening date has not yet been announced.
This is not The North Face’s first appearance at Broadway Plaza. The company already operates a store near Nordstrom, but the impending move will give the retailer a different storefront within the center. The former White House Black Market location became available after the women’s clothing retailer closed its longtime Broadway Plaza boutique in May.
The North Face sells an extensive range of outdoor apparel, footwear and equipment, including its instantly recognizable puffer jackets, fleece, backpacks, hiking shoes and snow gear. While the company remains closely associated with climbing and mountaineering, its clothing has also become a fixture of everyday streetwear.
The brand has especially deep ties to the Bay Area.
Climber Doug Tompkins founded The North Face in San Francisco in 1966, using his savings to open a small outdoor shop that became a gathering place for climbers, members of the Beat Generation and other figures from the city’s counterculture. The Grateful Dead even performed at the store during its early days.
The company moved across the Bay to Berkeley in 1968 and began designing and manufacturing its own mountaineering equipment. It eventually grew into an international brand and is now owned by apparel conglomerate VF Corporation.
The Walnut Creek move comes shortly after The North Face closed its longtime Berkeley outlet in July. That closure ended the brand’s physical retail presence in the city where it once maintained its headquarters and manufacturing operations, making its continued investment in the Walnut Creek store especially notable.
The relocation is also part of a busy period of change at Broadway Plaza. Recent additions to the shopping center include Vuori, Mango, New Balance, Laderach and furniture retailer 7th Avenue. The plaza’s directory currently lists several more businesses as coming soon, including SKIMS, American Eagle Outfitters, Sur La Table and nurse-run piercing studio Rowan.
For shoppers, the practical details remain limited for now. Again, the North Face has not publicly posted an opening day, although signs at the store say Fall 2026.
The new store will be located at 78 Broadway Lane inside Broadway Plaza in downtown Walnut Creek.
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