Today’s grand opening of the ABQ Uptown (Albuquerque, NM) store was a festive, Halloween-tinged event, according to attendees, and continued Apple’s switch to a V2.0 interior store design. The first two stores with the new interior opened on Sept. 23rd, and featured a mini-store appearance: stainless steel walls, brightly-lit wall graphics, and a single row of display tables. The ABQ store is wider than those first stores, and features two rows of display tables, along with a trio of bars–Genius, Studio and iPod. Thanks to Andrew and Mark for their collections of photos.
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Sean Calvert
November 1, 2006 at 12:08 pm
greg
November 1, 2006 at 3:31 pm
Andrew Hedges
November 1, 2006 at 4:16 pm
James Duffey
November 1, 2006 at 4:21 pm
Marc Orchant
November 1, 2006 at 4:56 pm
Chyeburashka
November 1, 2006 at 6:19 pm
rlpm
November 1, 2006 at 7:05 pm
Sean Calvert
November 1, 2006 at 8:02 pm
Matt
November 2, 2006 at 9:27 am
Adam
November 2, 2006 at 12:03 pm
Bastian
November 3, 2006 at 7:00 am
Andrew
November 3, 2006 at 8:53 am
Your comments...
Well, I am just back from the grand opening. I showed up at 8:30 and was about 50 people back in line with the first folks having been standing in line since 5:30. Everyone was pumped up and chatting with whoever happened to be standing in line about when they got their first Mac, etc.
The staff will want a breather after the crowds today. When I left an hour after it opened the line still went around the corner at the end of the block. It will probably be after 2:00 before you can get in without waiting in line.
Several other stores celebrated their grand opening today, but none had anywhere near the attendance for the apple store grand opening. At one point just before the doors opened the line went several people wide and stretched for the length of the block where the apple store is, then turned back toward the parking lot and went to the parking lot and then turned again and started down the next block.
From the people I saw leaving it looks like everyone came not just to look and celebrate, but had been waiting to buy their new computers until the store opened. One in every five people leaving the store appeared to be carrying a new apple computer under their arm.
Got there a bit before 8:00….#11 in line. 2 guys did the overnight thing, but everyone was friendly and it was fun. Lots of press and general buzz, also because the entire ABQ Uptown shopping center was having their grand opening today. I think even the Mayor’s ribbon cutting was overshadowed by the Apple Store opening though.
Lots of the “other store” employees looking jealously and scratching their heads at the line. Nobody anxiously waiting in line at Williams Sonoma for a $200 toaster? At Gyboree for adorable children’s clothing? I wonder why…
Quote of the day was for a trio of coeds, “What, are they like giving free iPods away here or something? The line is, like, so long!”
We’ve got photos of the opening….
http://www.clearwired.com/loop/archives/40-Apple-in-ABQ!.html
My daughter and I went to the Albuquerque Grand Opening this Morning.
Lots of people took pictures and video. Is any of this posted on the Web yet? I ahven’t been able to find any.
We got there at about 0800 and were numbers 15 and 16 in line. The line eventually swelled to go down the block and around the corner, around the corner again and back doen the block.
There was a festive atmosphere. When we got in, we browsed a bit. The store was packed and when we left a half hour later, there was still a long line waiting to get in. If the first day is any indication, it looks like they will have a steady business in Albuquerque.
I got there around 11:30 and scored a shirt! The crowds had lightened up - it was still crowded but not zoo-like (parking was another matter but that’s due to the ongoing construction and the fact that we have a very high per-capita allotment of bad drivers around here). I picked up a new Macbook (white high-end model), a family pack of iWork, and and a training guide to iWork for my wife (who’s still finding her way around her new iMac 20″).
All in all, a very Apple day! As a bonus, I had a chance to chat with Ryan (see his comment above) who I’ve known for years and hadn’t seen in quite a while.
I must have been standing in line pretty close to Sean. I was there with my 8-year old daughter who was happy to high-5 the Apple staff after waiting in line for an hour and a half. I was amazed that the entire initial line was able to enter the store. I asked an Apple employee for an estimate of the number of customers, and the answer was about 250. But that must have been the limit. After shopping (and buying) for about 20 minutes, I was even more amazed that the outside line had built back up, and up and up. All the way down to the corner, and then to the parking lot in the back. Several people in line around the corner were concerned that the were too late to get a T-shirt. I assured them they were probably still in the first 500 or so. But that was at 10:30. I don’t know what happened after that, but it looks like a great first day. I was so excited, that I forgot my “Stump the Genius” question, so I’ll ask it here. Is there any way to disable the Target Mode boot option (hold down T when booting)? There could be situations where you don’t want this to be possible. I’ve got some photos which I’ll send to the editor by e-mail.
I was #2, the second of two crazies to do the overnight thing. I also provided the Mac-O-Lantern. :) #1 was a guy named Kelly. He got there at 8:30PM and I at 10:15 p.m. I picked up a new black nano, firewire cable, and of course, free free shirt.
Viva La Tienda De Apple!
Chyeburashka,
I don’t know about a stump the genius question, but the answer is you need to download from Apple the Open Firmware Password Protection software. It will disable you from entering any of the key combinations to bypass the standard startup and login, except for the option key and then it will require you to enter your password before you can select the boot device.
After dropping my son of for school the earliest I could get there was at 9:25 am. I couldn’t believe the line when I got there! I was one of the people back around to the parking lot after it curled around the stores. Somebody was counting and said I was #267! I finally got in around 11am, looked around real quick and picked up my Macbook Pro. I was just hoping they still had some left as quite a few people were leaving with computers under their arms!
I’ll go back this weekend to pickup a few accessories and check out the store better.
I was there for the opening around 8 AM, and was probably #20 or so in line. It was a blast, and I’m so excited to finally have an Apple Store in Albuquerque, and only 10 minutes from my house! The staff was very friendly, and extremely excited to be opening the store. I really love the new design elements too, those metal walls are something to behold.
I grew up in Albuquerque years ago (Corrales—yeah!). I have very fond memories of the city. I hear that it has changed a bit over the years (sprawl), but an Apple store is great news for you querks! I have not visited since 1996, but I just may show up for a spree at your Apple store.
Come on, isn’t coming up with a “Stump the Genius” question kind of an immature thing?