COVID-19, riots finish off Minneapolis Apple Store

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Say goodbye to the Uptown Apple Store in Minneapolis.
The Uptown Apple Store in Minneapolis didn’t survive multiple blows from 2020.
Photo: Apple

The Uptown Apple Store in Minneapolis closed its doors for good. Though it might be more accurate to say the store won‘t reopen, as it’s been shuttered to the public since March due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

That didn’t stop the store from being damaged by rioters in May after the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. 2020 has been just extra hard on it.

The 60 employees of the store were told on Wednesday that it would never reopen, according to the StarTribune.

The Uptown location is near the center of Minneapolis, but isn’t the only Apple Store in the city. There are four more, including one in the Mall of America.

In a statement on the closure, Apple said, “Though we’ve made the difficult decision to permanently close Apple Uptown, all of our valued team members will be offered other positions within Apple and we look forward to continuing to serve our customers at our four nearby stores.”

While it’s not unusual for an Apple Store to move to a better location, it’s rare for one to simply close. Of course, the pandemic continues to put great strains on retail. Still, the company keeps adding new locations, including spectacular ones in Bangkok and Singapore.

Uptown Apple Store in a difficult location

Apple was reportedly already in the process of closing the Uptown Apple Store even before it was hit by multiple blows from 2020.

Numerous other stores in the area have already closed, including Columbia Sportswear, North Face, Victoria’s Secret and others. Restaurants have been shut down too.

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