Walnut Street Reinvention Continues, Attracting Brands That Are Embracing The Concept Of Experiential Retail
Brands such as Saatva and 2025’s Jordan World of Flight have invested heavily in bringing retail experiences and unique concepts to the neighborhood.
“This garden next door is amazing!” a guest mused to us when we met at a recent event held by Saatva, one of the first direct-to-consumer luxury mattress brands, to celebrate their first year in Philly.
When Saatva quietly opened in spring of last year, they were one of the first to bring the area back to life. A few years ago, this particular section of Walnut Street had been damaged by fire during the George Floyd protests. This specific building had been long occupied by Wells Fargo, but their neighbor to the East was now a sad, empty lot that reached from Walnut to Chancellor, and was still littered with charred bricks. Later that year, that derelict lot became Walnut Garden, and the city had begun to heal.
It was also jarring because this is a heavily trafficked block and, if you didn’t know the history, you’d wonder why a huge empty lot, with no construction equipment, existed.
Saatva could have gone anywhere but purposely chose Rittenhouse as their Pennsylvania flagship store. They believed they had picked the right space (of course they had) and invested resources into transforming the bank space to create something really special: experiential retail, that offers an immersive environment to go beyond the product itself. It’s not about the product: it’s about sharing what their brand means with others, and they chose this particular block to do it. And in doing so, they – along with Walnut Garden – transformed the block.
Because this wasn’t about selling a mattress. This was about giving people an opportunity to appreciate the brand.
Was it a gutsy move? To their credit, Saatva doesn’t think so. Kerry Offsey, the Design Director at Saatva’s architectural firm shared their teams’ thoughts on why Rittenhouse was their number 1 choice:
“Specifically this area is great for foot traffic. There are so many stores around, it’s a beautiful area to walk around and shop, and obviously, the space is super important for these needs. This space was previously a bank and, as you can imagine, it looked nothing like this. There was an ATM out in the front and there are intricacies and little quirks in dealing with spaces like that and it’s left to us and the architects to reimagine it to what you see as today.”
Ask anyone in the neighborhood and they will tell that this area is about discovering brands or brands that are expressing their identity (we see you Vans!). After all, we have mattress stores but that’s not what Saatva delivered. They leaned into the ethos of “good design is beautiful and better design is felt” to create a non-traditional shopping experience.
Stepping into the Saatva store is, in itself, an experience because everything becomes quieter. The atmosphere is serene, and everything from the layout, the lighting, the scent, the sound, and plush seating areas.
One of the most striking features of the Saatva Philly store is a big, beautiful white tree, right in the middle of the store that, in their words, “brings the nature and the outdoor indoor quality together such a focal point and it grounds the store and mattresses at the center.” This isn’t just a place to buy a mattress—it’s been designed purposely to be a place to feel good.
Saatva’s brand is focused on creating a mood, a moment, an escape. Visitors are invited to relax, engage in one-on-one “sleep” consultations, and explore the best of luxury sleep in private, spa-like settings.
Saatva may not be the only name elevating the shopping experience in Philly but you can’t deny that it is the first one to launch here. Since they opened we’ve seen Rescue Spa, Tempur-pedic and Reformation arrive – all brands embracing the fact that ambiance matters as much as the product, although Rescue Spa and Reformation are less boutiquey. Joining them in 2025 will be Jordan World of Flight which will be similar: a brand experience where the product itself is not the star – which we think nobody will mind.
As more brands like Saatva bring their experiential retail model to the neighborhood, we can see it quickly establishing itself as the place for brands to be innovative, creative, and unique. After all, this is Philly: everyone has something to say, and brands should too.
