Apple has sent out notice of the B'game store reopening at 10 am on Saturday, Nov. 18th after a six month remodel. The plywood case has been removed so we can now see the "new" Apple store. It looks amazingly like the old Apple store except for perhaps some windows on the side; which the Planning Commission asked them to do years ago when the old store was first presented.
But wait, there is more. One of the roving Voice photogs has passed along a sneak preview of the "new" inside of the store. And to my eye it looks a lot like the old Apple interior. They have a couple more days to spruce it up a bit, but unless that happens I fear I will always think of my high school wood shop as I enter (minus the saws, drill presses and lathes). What do you all think?
The good news is the store will continue to generate nice sales tax revenue even at the new higher Measure I rate.
Not much difference considering all the work and time it was closed!
Money burned I guess.
Posted by: Joanne | November 16, 2017 at 04:48 PM
A few days ago, as the plywood was coming off the top, I thought, wow, that is going to look really dirty--soon. The stone is very, very barely there, light beige, and has some kind of horizontal veining in it, but so light, that it also looks like dirt.
The other unfortunate thing is that unlike the last version, that I think was mounted on a steel frame of some sort, and had separation between the edges (sort of grenade-like), this one looks like pretty standard mortar and grout installation, and in some places, the big stones are not perfectly plumb, and the light hits them just so, and casts some uneven lines, and so it looks (dare I say) "cheap".
Here's the (good) thing- the major facelift to the streetscape had an unexpected affect- Everyone who has considered "fixing" or renovating their property (some of them for the first time in decades) has bumped it up a notch in quality, and it is catching. Of late, this has involved some very attractive exterior painting jobs and period replacement windows.
So, in a weird way, Apple Inc. that has insisted on a trademark kind of a standard look (that one could easily argue is getting "old"), doesn't have much wiggle room for anything less than perfect when it comes to choice of "rock" or installation. I'm not sure this one hit that mark. As the surrounding buildings gradually undergo improvements, the Apple concept (I think) cannot hold a candle to several other structures that have real bones.
I have not seen the inside, yet, but a big screen in the back (I thought) was to become the big new thing to draw people in. I hope that is the case so that it was a worthwhile project, if nothing else, at least in revenues to the city.
Posted by: Jennifer | November 16, 2017 at 05:16 PM
I agree. For the time that it's been boarded up, I really don't see much of a difference. Perhaps they had a lot of structural work? Not impressed.
Posted by: Laura | November 16, 2017 at 06:05 PM
The original bank building was built like, well, an old bank. I doubt they improved the structure.
Posted by: hillsider | November 17, 2017 at 12:08 AM
Fixed it for you Joe:
The good news is the store will continue to generate nice sales tax revenue ESPECIALLY at the new higher Measure I rate.
Posted by: Ian | November 17, 2017 at 01:34 PM
Well folks, in Bruce Dickinson parlance, I would say
"Looks like a whole lotta nothin'"
Posted by: Bruce Dickinson | November 17, 2017 at 03:31 PM
Okay, it is significantly improved by night, I think. The Planning Commission gets kudos for not letting Apple get away with the original plan, that was closed off on the Park Rd. side, just like before. -- So that huge "window" and big screen do enliven the street, at least when the sun goes down. One thing that may be a problem will be to keep people from trying to walk through there, and maybe bonking their heads. Some decals may do it. Happy faces :) I guess two "real" entrances would have been far too risky for thefts.
Posted by: Jennifer | November 17, 2017 at 06:15 PM
Ain't nothin' to steal on the floor. The genius gofers go get whatever you buy after you buy it.
Posted by: hillsider | November 18, 2017 at 01:17 AM
Measure I - I will go to another Apple store that does not gouge me with sales tax.
Posted by: Dewy Cheatam | November 18, 2017 at 07:00 PM
Great idea "Dewy" - spend ~45 min (if no traffic) to drive ~30 miles to San Fran so you can save $5.00 on your $1000 iPhone.
Posted by: Ian | November 20, 2017 at 10:38 AM
Hillsdale is nearby and parking is easier!
Posted by: HMB | November 20, 2017 at 07:45 PM
... and San Mateo has a 9% sales tax, same as what Burlingame will have with Measure I
Posted by: Ian | November 21, 2017 at 05:01 PM
Come on now...
A Gallon of Gasoline is on it's way to $5.00 per Gallon.
Take the Bus.
If more of us took Public Transportation, Public transportation would only get better.
HSR is just plain stupid.
Posted by: hollyroller | November 21, 2017 at 10:54 PM
Has anyone noticed the return of the "phantom" Burlingame Police Car? It had been parked in front of the Apple store or across the street as a bit of a scarecrow for would-be shoplifters before the remodeling.
With the re-opening of the store, a valuable parking space has been forfeited by the City as a means of scaring off thieves.
Shouldn't a store such as Apple's, with all their technology, have a security system in place?
Posted by: Gerald | November 27, 2017 at 05:49 PM
Here is yesterday's news from today's Chron:
Burlingame police are seeking a group of thieves who ran into an Apple Store and grabbed $50,000 worth of phones and laptops in a matter of seconds — the fifth such incident in the Bay Area in the past two weeks.
LocalFire damage at Tahoe National Forest not as bad as initially...
The theft took place around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, said Burlingame police Lt. Robert Boll (Note: this is right in the middle of the farmers' market so particularly brazen). Four males, estimated to be in their teens and 20s, took about 30 phones and six laptops from the display tables and fled in a car parked on the street (Note: there is surveillance video, but we don't get any description except their ages).
The car was a gray Volvo sedan driven by a fifth male, also believed to be in his teens or 20s. The entire incident happened in 30 seconds, Boll said.
No Apple employees or customers were harmed. At least one Apple security guard was in the store at the time.
Posted by: Joe | September 04, 2018 at 12:26 PM
Maybe it is time for Apple to consider double doors with an "anti-chamber" a la Kern's -- Since Park Road was essentially closed off, I cannot understand how the hooligans escape so quickly out of town in a car. Do they head up to ECR, or down to California? It's pretty hard to imagine getting through that congestion without running over a pedestrian.
Posted by: Jennifer P. | September 04, 2018 at 05:24 PM
Time to re-think the security company that Apple uses. What was that guard doing???
Posted by: Bruce Dickinson | September 04, 2018 at 10:44 PM
Make display phones useless outside of store.
Posted by: Cassandra | September 05, 2018 at 06:59 AM