In a blog post released on June 23rd, Yelp co-founder and CEO Jeremy Stoppelman announced that “the future of work is remote.” Along with their New York and Washington D.C. offices, the internet mainstay will also be shuttering its Chicago offices located at 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, within the Merchandise Mart. These changes come after the 2021 downsizing of its San Francisco headquarters.
In the post, Stoppelman cited the motive for this decision as the changing times as well as record profits and staff productivity. He continued by saying that the company will be permanently closing the “underutilized offices on July 29.” He also shared that “the three offices we’re closing saw a weekly average utilization of less than two percent of the available workspaces.” Yelp plans to “re-allocate resources towards our employee experience, new talent, and the growth of our business.”
Yelp’s Chicago office was designed by the architecture firm Valerio Dewalt Train, and covers 133,000 square feet, spanning two floors of the Merchandise Mart. The offices first opened in 2015 expanding to a second floor in 2016 as the Chicago staff grew. Their office space occupies space on the fourth and has a bright take on a “below the L” theme.
Yelp Offices Merchandise Mart credit Chicago Commercial Photography
With Yelp joining the growing number of companies leaving leases in Chicago, it is unclear what this exit will mean for developers and leasing potential.
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Yelp is an extortion racket. The world is better without them.
If only Yelp was closing its despicable business down for good.