If ever there was a Geek Coffee House in the making, it’s Apple’s new 3-story, 10,500 square foot store in Manhattan’s trendy meatpacking district.
It has everything a ‘pod lover could ask for (Apple says), including a whole penthouse floor dedicated to immersing oneself in the i-Nirvana of tech support and software classes.
Everything except for, you know, coffee.
Nestled in a neighborhood of clubs, restaurants and bars (it’s a few block from trendy spots like Jay-Z’s 40/40 sports bar), the new store boasts a glass spiral staircase and has plenty of seating on a floor free of checkout counters, so that customers to hang out and “chillax” as they pony up to the “bar” (Ok, its a “Genius Bar”).
So I asked Apple retail guru, senior vice president Ron Johnson:
“Uhm, Where’s the I-Latte’s? Where’s the Double-Click Grande Darjeeling Blends with raw mac-sugar? No warm scones with ‘Job’s Apple Jelly’?”
Johnson: In a fun way we think that we dispense advice and let other people dispense food. We have thought about that, but (we) really think there is not a big demand for it.
(At our other stores) people bring their cups of coffee from Starbucks, or hot tea. We encourage them to enjoy that. But usually where we are located there are people excellent at food and beverage, and we want to be experts at all things Mac and iPod. So no food.
Good thing there’s a Starbucks right across the street.
(Photos: Reuters)
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