PHOTO: DW LABS INCORPORATED – STOCK.ADOBE.COM

A national retailer that has anchored Shadyside’s Walnut Street for decades is closing its doors in March.

Banana Republic, which has been a part of the neighborhood since 1995, will shut down on March 31, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The retailer is one of several brands owned by Gap Inc. — which has had declining sales — to leave the area; Athleta and the Gap store on Walnut Street both closed in 2024. Several other longtime, locally owned retailers such as e.b. Pepper and Footloose also closed in the last year after the owners retired.

However, new stores are on the way.

Herky Pollock, president and CEO of Legacy Realty Partners, the broker for the real estate, told the Post-Gazette he is negotiating with two national retailers for the 15,000-square-foot space that will be vacated by Banana Republic. Prior to moving to its current spot at the corner of Walnut and Ivy streets in 2000 — which, at the time, was the brand’s largest location in the nation — Banana Republic operated in a smaller space on the same street.

Pollock called the decision to part ways with Banana Republic, which specializes in upscale, classic clothing and accessories for women and men, mutual.

“It’s been on the street for a very, very long time. I view it as an opportunity to upgrade the current tenant mix on the street,” he told the PG.

Pollock added he is looking for brands that are “cutting edge and hugely transformative that will allow Walnut Street to go into the next era.”

Among the other changes on Walnut Street, the Apple store is moving from 5508 Walnut to the two-level space at 5436 Walnut that was once occupied by the Gap. Now under construction, the space is expected to open later this year. Legacy Realty Partners also is in talks with several retailers to take over the Apple space once it switches locations.

Cheeks, a Pittsburgh-based lingerie store that also has a location in Squirrel Hill, and Madeleine George, a trendy, locally owned women’s boutique, have since replaced e.b. Pepper, while Paris Baguette, a South Korea-based bakery chain known for its French-style bakery goods, is set to open at the former Williams Sonoma store. Although signage is up on the Walnut Street building, an opening date for Paris Baguette has yet to be announced.