Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Northlake Apple store opens this weekend

It's official: Northlake Mall's new Apple store will open at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27.


The store has been under construction for months, the grand opening date kept under wraps per Apple's usual policy. The Northlake Apple store is Charlotte's second (the first is at SouthPark) and the state's fifth Apple retail location.

The opening is likely to draw a big crowd, and the first 1,000 shoppers will get a free T-shirt, Apple says. The store is on Northlake's second floor, next to the Bebe location, and will have all the usual Apple store features, such as the Genius Bar.

A Mecklenburg County building permit lists the project as a $1.7 million renovation. That sounds pricey, but actually isn't that much for a company that recently had several billion dollars more on hand than the U.S. Treasury.

So will you stop by Saturday for a free T-shirt? Avoid the crowds? Or are you more of a PC person?

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another story we are tired of hearing about.

WashuOtaku said...

Note to self, do not visit Northlake Mall this coming weekend.

TC said...

Another place for the sheeple to drool at....

Anonymous said...

So what's this...fourth in the series of free advertising for the Apple store? Or is it the fifth? Sort of like a pop-up ad, isn't it?

How much is Apple paying the Observer to run these stories?

Bor-r-r-r-ing.

Anonymous said...

Actually it is the second post....The FIRST was to announce that there is an Apple Store opening and the SECOND was a follow up on the opening date being confirmed.....judging from the content of the comments here it should not surprise me that math was not taken very seriously either......

Good to see another store is opening as the South Park location is not large enough to handle all of the business.

Anonymous said...

STOP THE FREAKING PRESSES-- a store is opening-

I think the CO has gotten all the mileage out of this one they can- no wonder they keep laying off folks if this is the best they can do for news story

Ely Portillo said...

While this is a retail blog about store openings and closings, I appreciate the sentiment. Sadly, with this post, we only made it to 1 comment before the tone turned negative, which is the same as last time.

Anonymous said...

Sadly, Ely.....you chose to print another story about this. Maybe that's why it's negative. Maybe some of us despise Apple products and their love affair with facebook and AT&T. We know the store is opening. Enough.

Is it you that may be obsessed with Apple stores or everything they do? Sorry, but it's nothing more than overkill.

Anonymous said...

I despise Apple computers and their line of other i-this or i-that. Overpriced and not compatible with anything else you own! Makes no sense to me. Then, all they want you to do, is buy the next new item they come out with, which by the way will cost you another fortune. Forget upgrading and with the items you already bought from them. No wonder children and mindless teens flock to those stores. They don't have to foot the damned bill!!!!

Anonymous said...

The computers that they sell at Apple don't do anything that regular PCs won't do for half the price. What a rip off. The comment above about the teenagers who run out there like lemmings just don't know any better and don't have to pay for the junk.

Anonymous said...

Pathetic. Just built for the sole purpose of giving the elitist Cornelius and Huntersville soccer mom trash a place to go to spend all the money they are trying to hoard. Lookout, their kids will be running around and bothering the hell out of everyone while their on their cell phone talking about their stocks. Hope they all stay up there and rot.

kickazzz2000 said...

Haters gonna hate

fatty mcfinklefat said...

finally

Anonymous said...

Yep, hate it for all the right reasons too, and proud of it. Run along now and get to the iPad store before you and the rest of your little friends are banned from the mall once the sun goes down, thanks to your senseless thuggery.

Anonymous said...

This will be the lowest volume apple store in the country. Northlake mall has a curfew 18 and under must get out after 5pm. Apple will be wondering where everyone is.

Anonymous said...

Good. Let them wonder. 1) Very telling that Apple's base are teenagers 2) Thank God there is a curfew and they all have to be out of there. Best thing the mall ever did.

Anonymous said...

Reading these comments just cracks me up...I can't believe people get so fired up about a store opening being announced on a blog about store openings.

If you are so irked to hear more about a store opening, don't click the link to the story.

@12:44 - Who under 18 years old can afford to buy Apple stuff themselves? I know that plenty of kids have iPhones, but their parents most likely bought them. Apple will probably be glad to have all the kids out of the way after 5pm to make room for the people that actually buy stuff instead of just hang around and play with the devices.

Ely Portillo said...

Quick note - I'm disabling anonymous comments on this blog. I just got tired of every single thing on here from notes about Harris Teeter (which inevitably lead to a huge argument about whether soccer moms from Ballantyne should burn or whether people who go to Wal-Mart or trolls, or other silliness) to this Apple store being immediately taken over by angry anonymous commenters. You can disagree with this, and it will certainly reduce the overall number of comments, but that's OK. Haters can drink their haterade and hate in private, or at least attach some kind of name. Thanks.

NCSchoon said...

Thank you Ely, I appreciate the story and agree, anonymous comments just bring out the stupid in people. I was wondering when the store would open and now I know.

doug said...

Wow. I can't believe how nasty a blog about a store opening can get. Race, religion, politics.... no, this is about a simple anouncement about a store opening.

1) I didn't know about the opening date until I just read this blog, so at least I'm glad it was posted.

2) I hated having to drive all the way from Huntersville to Southpark to go to an apple store, so this works for me.

3) If you don't like the store, or don't like the products, don't buy them. If you do, then enjoy.

4) Anyone who got their shorts all in a knot about the article needs to just take a deep breath. Life is short people. Don't waste it being angry.

Heln vanPatterson Patton said...

It's just more of Charlotte saying: "Hey, look at me! I really am a city!". Please.

1. It's a store
2. Call me when Bloomingdales & Saks Fifth Avenue open
3. Harris-Teeter really is a poor excuse for a food retailer
4. If they don't agree with the status quo, make them disappear
5. Yawn...

c said...

Apple caters to college students and professionals, not teens. Some of you should really get out more.

Timothy Whitson said...

Apple; either ya love 'em or ya hate 'em. Like NASCAR, very little middle ground. I have an iPhone, want an iPad, otherwise use PC computers because right now, they're just a better price. Truth is, no product is worth getting your panties in such a wad either for or against. The opening is definitely newsworthy as the company has more available liquid cash than the US government right now, which should speak volumes about their consumer base; unlikely the under-18 crowd ranted about previously. Unlike some of the previous posters, I can generally look at a headline and tell if it's a story I find worthy of my time to read or at least skim over and I generally don't feel compelled to comment that a story is a waste of time. That would just be admitting that I wasted MY time, and then further wasted more by taking time to comment that it was a waste. Furthermore, no one reading this online has spent a dime of their own money to do so, and I find it hard to justify how some folks can be just downright rude to the writers. Offering a difference of opinion is one thing, but why hide behind the cloak of "anonymous" and speak so harshly? Life is short folks; that is if you even have one to begin with.