Oakridge Apple fans get a brand new store for Valentine’s Day

Apple opened its new store in San Jose, California, on Valentine’s Day, just a day after closing the nearby mini-store that was the last of its kind.

Located just minutes from the mini-store location, Apple Store Oakridge was unveiled at midnight, with employees removing the black plastic that covered the glass. The new retail venue opened at 10 a.m. on Valentine’s Day, with a queue of around 85 people gathering — all of whom received a gray, commemorative Apple T-shirt to mark the event.

Meanwhile, the old store was covered up, and a sign pointed would-be visitors down the hall to the considerably larger space.

The mini-stores were originally opened up in 2004, at a time when Apple was struggling to find the big spaces it was ideally looking for. A bold experiment, the mini-stores quickly became unmanageable due to the growing demand for Apple products. Rumored mini-stores in locations like airports and universities never came to fruition. (Read our tribute to the mini-stores and their unique design for more on the end of an era.)

All of this raises the question: With the Oakridge mini-store shut, where is the world’s smallest Apple Store? Leave your comments below.

Source: ifostore

Luke Dormehl

Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.