| People lined up more than 100 strong to be among the first to be at Apple’s third Florida retail store opening Saturday, August 17th, at Wellington Green Mall in Palm Beach County. The store, which opened almost a year later than originally planned, joins Apple-branded stores in Miami and Tampa, and makes Florida Apple’s third largest retail market, behind New York and California.
 As was done at The Falls store opening, employees lined up inside as crowds waited outside, firing up the enthusiasm until the doors were opened. Once inside, people gathered to see the latest G4 towers, just announced, including a host of new dual processor machines. Also popular was the new 17” iMac, and displays highlighting OSX 10.2, known as Jaguar. Some of the new dual processor machines in stock were already equipped with Jaguar pre-installed, even though the official release was not due for a week after the opening.
Gold Coast Mac did not have a major presence at the store opening, due to its distance from Miami. A number of members did attend the opening, including board member Sandy Medina, who arrived in Team GCMac colors and spent a morning answering questions. Member David Ertley attended his second Apple Store opening so he could create a video of the experience.
Store staff members handed out traditional Apple opening day T-shirts to the people as they poured in took a look around, and to take advantage of the day filled with demos.
Some who came may have been there for the prizes, which included a complete Digital Hub with a Mac, video camera, and more. A lucky winner was selected after August 24th, as the store celebrated the release of Jaguar.
The new Apple Store is located in the upscale Wellington Green Mall, which is operated by the same company which operates The Falls. The Palm Beach County store was reported to be set to open last fall, to be timed with the opening of the new mall. But construction was abruptly put on hold until late spring of this year, in what industry sources claimed was a dispute between Apple and the developer.
Apple is preparing to open a fourth Florida store, at the Millenia Mall in Orlando, and has already started advertising for staff. No announcement has been made about that opening, although Apple generally gives little advance notice and doesn’t take out ads for its openings.
August 2002
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