It’s been years in the works and officials have kept details cloudy, but the line of eager Apple enthusiasts snaking down the sidewalk said it all:
Santa Barbara’s first Apple retail store is now open for business.
As the Saturday morning crowd was let into the store in small bursts, customers were greeted by Apple employees applauding and handing out T-shirts. Hundreds of people milled about the massive store, checking out computers and gadgets. Click here for a slide show of opening day images from the store.
Matt Peyton, the store’s manager, told Noozhawk that the 928 State St. location is one of the company’s larger stores, but said he felt it was an appropriate size for the area.
“I don’t know that I would call Santa Barbara a small community,” he said, adding that he felt Apple users “had been waiting for this.”
Peyton couldn’t say how many employees the store had, but another employee estimated around 70 people. When he was asked about other local Macintosh dealers, Peyton said the store wants to work with those dealers.
“We’re looking to build relationships with them,” he said. “It’s all about looking to see that the customer’s needs are met.”
Amanda Taylor and Rafael Ochoa drove up from Oxnard for the opening, which had been postponed a week because of the Jesusita Fire.
“We woke up at 3 a.m. for this,” said Ochoa, who said there were about 15 people ahead of them when they lined up just before 6 a.m.
“It’s not your typical Apple Store,” he said. “It surprises you when you walk inside.”
Gene McKnight, a broker for Pacifica Commercial Realty, helped coordinate the recent move of the Anthropologie store to Upper State Street, and said the retailer had considered Apple’s location, former site of a Pier 1.
National retailers look at other factors, like foot traffic from tourism, but McKnight said Santa Barbara’s local demographic alone is unlikely to support a store of Apple’s size.
“It remains to be seen, but that’s quite a large store for this area,” he said, adding that he hopes the store will increase foot traffic on the eastern side of State Street, which is typically lower than the opposite.
McKnight said the initial price of $3.25 per square foot hadn’t held up and was negotiated down to the “upper twos,” he said. Added levels increased the floor space to nearly 18,000 square feet, which would put the cost for the retail space safely above $50,000 monthly rent. Apple reportedly is using more than a third of it.
The store has three levels inside, and that construction is what has drawn out a process that, start to finish, took about three years, he said.
“In effect, it’s a new building with the same exterior,” McKnight said.
National retailers have their own ideas about what they like their stores to look like and Apple is no exception, with its typically modern glass and steel storefronts. But Apple’s Santa Barbara store is located in the heart of the city’s historic corridor, El Pueblo Viejo, an area that has strict design and architectural guidelines.
“Santa Barbara is different because retailers find they have to work with what’s there,” McKnight said. “It’s interesting because they find out very quickly that Santa Barbara has a certain look it wants to keep.”
But just because Apple is the newest store in town doesn’t mean it’s the only dealer. Mike Bishop, owner of MacMechanic, 216 E. Gutierrez St., said the Apple Store’s opening will almost certainly drive down sales for him, at least in the short term.
“We know from other sellers that the first three months will usually show sales down,” because of the appeal of a new store, he said. But Bishop seemed optimistic about the store opening, suggesting it will increase the market share for Apple products in the area. He said he’ll be working to provide a more personal approach to service than the State Street store might.
Apple still requires an appointment to talk about repairs, he said, something MacMechanic doesn’t. Bishop also said he and his crew set up a customer’s computer after purchase to make sure it’s running properly and connected to the Internet.
“Santa Barbara is really loyal to local businesses,” said Bishop, who started his business 11 years ago when there weren’t other local options for Mac owners.
“I kept Apple alive in this town,” he said.
Samy’s Camera, 614 Chapala St., is another authorized Mac dealer.
Santa Barbara resident Jennifer Hislang was at the Apple Store’s opening with her two children, who were playing on several computers set up on low tables with games already open. She said she was excited about the store.
“There are so many creative people here, I think this store will do well,” she said.
Hislang said she’s used the other local dealers in the past for repairs and will continue to do so, in spite of the Apple Store’s downtown presence.
“We’ll still use them because they’re local,” she said.
Back outside the Apple Store, security guard Robert Garner had driven up from Valencia to help with crowd control over the weekend. He said a group had started congregating about 6 p.m. Friday and that Apple employees from the San Luis Obispo store arrived in line around 3 a.m.
“I think this store will do just fine; you’ve got the junior college here, Brooks and UCSB,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming for this store.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com.
