Best Buy Closing Temecula Store; What's Next For The Building?

TEMECULA, CA — The sign at the door says it all: "It's not goodbye. It's 'see you around.'" The Temecula Best Buy storefront, located at 32937 Temecula Parkway, will close in early March, according to reports from employees of the store and the city of Temecula.

Patch spoke with a handful of employees from the store who declined to share their names even as shelves were being dismantled around them.

One employee said the rent had been raised and the chain was unwilling to foot the higher bill. There are at least three other Best Buys across the nation also shuttering in early March, two in Tennessee and one in Missouri.

Temecula Best Buy shoppers will have the option of buying electronics at Best Buy in Murrieta, Menifee, or online. Purchasers of the chain's "Geek Squad" services will still be serviced by nearby techs from as far away as San Marcos, according to a Best Buy spokesperson.

Multiple Temecula Best Buy employees will also be transferred to either the company's Menifee or Murrieta stores, while some are accepting severance packages, according to another employee who also wished to remain anonymous.

The retail center where Temecula Best Buy is located changed hands in late 2022 when Centers Dynamic and United Growth purchased the nearly 70,500-square-foot retail property for $19.75 million. The purchase comes after the buyer developed an extensive "acquisition, reposition and break-up/value add strategy," according to a report on The Registry.

Best Buy has no plans for opening another Temecula location, according to store employees.

Christine Damko, Temecula's economic development manager, said the city is working with the retail management company to determine the next tenant for the space. Though nothing is yet set in stone, stores such as "Smart and Final" are being considered as of this report.

Patch has reached out to Best Buy for a statement on the impending closure and will update this report when that is received. Best Buy shared this statement on the imminent closure of the Missouri store:

"The decision to close a store is never an easy one, and we are so grateful for our St. Joseph-area customers who have shopped with us over the years," a Best Buy statement to the St. Joseph News-Press reads. "We hope they continue to shop with us at BestBuy.com or on the Best Buy app."

Best Buy has quietly closed several stores for the past three years. In 2019, the chain closed 20 locations. Approximately 20 more Best Buy stores across the country closed in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Media reports suggest that at least 60 Best Buy stores closed in 2021. To start 2023, Best Buy operated 925 retailers across the country, with 145 of those locations in California.