Bed Bath & Beyond Won’t Open New Stores in California
“California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive, and risky environments for businesses in America. It’s a system that makes it harder to employ people, harder to keep doors open, and harder to deliver value to customers.”
Bed Bath & Beyond has risen from the ashes and opened new stores across the country…except California.
Executive Chairman Marcus Lemonis said politics did not cause the decision. Reality led to the decision:
California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive, and risky environments for businesses in America. It’s a system that makes it harder to employ people, harder to keep doors open, and harder to deliver value to customers.
The result? Higher taxes, higher fees, higher wages that many businesses simply cannot sustain, and endless regulations that strangle growth. Even when the state announces a budget surplus, it’s built on the backs of ordinary citizens who are paying too much and businesses who are squeezed until they break.
“At Bed Bath & Beyond, our responsibility is to our customers and our shareholders,” Lemonis added. “We will not participate in a system that undermines both.”
Official statement regarding @BedBathBeyond
We will not open retail stores in California.
This isn’t about politics — it’s about reality.
California’s system makes it nearly impossible for businesses to succeed, and I won’t put our company, our employees, or our… pic.twitter.com/G5dSaigB3y— Marcus Lemonis (@marcuslemonis) August 20, 2025
California customers can still buy online and receive 24-48 hour delivery. Lemonis said the system would give the customers a better price, not affected by California’s “unsustainable model.”
Bed Bath & Beyond went away in 2023:
Earlier this month, the first revamped Bed Bath & Beyond Home store opened in Nashville.
It’s been a multi-year journey for the popular home goods brand that went defunct in 2023. After the chain went bankrupt, Overstock.com acquired the intellectual property, rebranded as Beyond, Inc. and relaunched the Bed Bath & Beyond domain online.
Earlier this year, Beyond took an ownership stake in Kirkland’s Inc., a home decor chain with around 300 stores nationwide. Kirkland’s has since rebranded as The Brand House Collective and plans to roll out Bed Bath & Beyond Home stores by converting existing Kirkland’s stores.
Depending on how things go in Nashville, the company plans to convert approximately 75 stores through 2026.
Bed Bath & Beyond literally cannot afford to take any chances in its infancy.
Many companies have already abandoned California: Charles Schwab, Chevron, HP Enterprise, Oracle, SpaceX, Tesla.
“We believe California has a number of policies that raise costs, that hurt consumers, that discourage investment and ultimately we think that’s not good for the economy in California and for consumers,” said Chevron CEO Mike Wirth.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats panicked over losing oil companies. They want to boost oil and gas production despite hating Big Oil.
In July 2024, Elon Musk announced he would move SpaceX and Tesla to Texas after California banned school districts from telling parents their child is transgender or using different pronouns.
Musk described the law as “the final straw.”
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Comments
What surprises me is that more companies don’t just go “We won’t do business in California” because of the sheer hassle and cost.
How much better would things be if all companies were blunt about why they left blue states? At some point the left wouldn’t be able to hide from what’s really happening in these states.
When we use to live in San Fran we would frequently shop at BBB. It’s no surprise that they won’t open there now.
fwiw – the retail shops for the type consumer goods sells is a dying distribution platform. I would expect significant shrinkage in that platform over the next 20-30 years, Though california regulations will certainly speed the decline in CA
I personally like to shop I person and miss Bed bath and beyond
They had quality products usually at a decent price
Gonzotx – it depends on what product I am buying on whether I buy via online or in person, though the general trend is a heavy shift to buying online. That is where the younger generation is headed.
For some things yeah in store is my preference. For others… Not so much. Like the trail running shoes I purchased last week. I know what brand, what model and what size so buying a replacement pair online is easier. For something I haven’t bought before I’d prefer to see it in store unless it’s a basic item where cost outweighs brand. I still make it a point to shop locally if they can come close on price to keep my $ in the community but most won’t negotiate on prices so online it is.
If handicapped access has the wrong width or wrong slope, private parties can sue and recover huge damages, in California. That used to be a scandal but it’s just business as usual these days. Lawyer employment act.
In addition to the above named companies that no longer operate in CA, add to them the last sugar beet factory in CA (per Breitbart) which is closing down and relocating somewhere in the Midwest. It employs about 700 people.
The problem with CA extends beyond government policies. I experienced a general intolerance, inflexibility, conformity and bad attitude among the inhabitants. Especially in the Bay Area with Berkeley being the worst. Of course I knew many wonderful people, and had great friends and working colleagues. It’s just there are not enough of them. It became really obvious when I moved to Texas at the start of the Covid hoax.
I don’t think the CA government will change course. They just can’t. They would rather rule over the ashes of a once great state.
As John Milton said, “It is better to rule in hell than to serve in heaven.”
Milton put that line into the mouth of Satan in Paradise Lost. I’m reasonably sure Milton did not personally approve of those sentiments. Your comment makes it sound as if he did.
California’s tax agency is so woke it’s called the Board of Equalization.
california franchise tax board
“The State Board of Equalization is a public agency charged with tax administration and fee collection in the state of California in the United States. The authorities of the Board fall into four broad areas: sales and use taxes, property taxes, special taxes, and acting as an appellate body for franchise and income tax appeals.”
Source: Wikipedia
Yes, CA Franchise Tax Board administers income taxes.
I thought BBB was wrote history, but here we go again. Marcus Lemonis can take a sow’s ear and transform it into a tasteless but life-sustaining gruel.
BREAKING NEWS: FEDERAL DISTRICT JUDGE ORDERS BED BATH & BEYOND TO “IMMEDIATELY OPEN SUFFICIENT STORES TO FULFILL THE GLORIOUS FIVE-YEAR ECONOMIC PLAN”
(Just kidding – I hope!)
Reopen them in Aridzona!
Yes please. Tucson!
I was hoping for Bloodbath & Beyond. For all your smiting needs.
Daggers, maces, battle axes, swords, shields, flails. Oh, war hammers are BOGO this week. Can’t wait. 😀
Do they still offer varlet parking?
Varlets were usually too young to drive.
There you go again. Noticing things.
:-{)}}}
Yes, I need a new array of skulls in which to drink the of my enemies.
I gave the commemorative Ten Most Wanted set.
Hey.
In Arizona, ax throwing is considered entertainment for the entire family.
(Intrigued? Full website here.)
And Newsom’s ‘team of professionals’ running his X account posted the following in response:
“After their bankruptcy and closure of every store, like most Americans, we thought Bed, Bath & Beyond no longer existed.
We wish them well in their efforts to become relevant again as they try to open a 2nd store.”
And yet they continue to act surprised their approval keeps dropping.
I admit to not being a BBB customer. My wife has been, but I am not. But it strikes me that the decision to stay as far away from California’s bureaucracy and Leftist ideology as possible. There is no reason to expend that effort to enrich a government.
Subotai Bahadur
CommoChief:
“I know what brand, what model and what size so buying a replacement pair online is easier. ”
But you only know this because you first went into a shop and tried on several pairs. What happens when the shoes you are currently buying are discontinued or go out of business. You can’t say: “When that happens I’ll go into a shop and choose somethingnew.” The shop will be gone!
That’s the beauty of shopping Amazon, Not only can you return something for any reason, they pay the shipping! That right there is the “killer app” in retail since 2010+.
They started cutting their own throats when the kicked out “My Pillow”.
I personally quit shopping there immediately, as did many more.
Me too. It’s not that I was a huge fan of Mike Lindell; he always seemed a little loopy. But BBB chose to make a business decision for political reasons.
And I really liked shopping in their brick and mortar stores.
Dunkin Donuts refuses to operate in CA also, issued a similar statement to BBB’s.
They made one exception to open a location on a military base (Presidio if memory serves) at the request of the soldiers there.
Probably hundreds of businesses just won’t go there but keep silent about it.
The bad part of getting old (besides joint pain) is not being able to remember all the parts of story. Letterman decades ago used the phrase “Bed, Bath, and Way Beyond” to refer to someone or something but I can’t remember the joke, only the punchline. I want to say Martha Stewart but I’m just not sure.