Published in the February 1, 2017 edition
CUSTOMERS of all ages at the new Apple store at MarketStreet Lynnfield were engrossed in trying out the Apple pencil on Saturday. It allows notes to be hand-written on a tablet such as an Apple iPad. (Maureen Doherty Photo)
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
LYNNFIELD — It has been said: If you build it, they will come, and that was most certainly the case at the new Apple Store at MarketStreet Lynnfield on Saturday.
Customers were lined up outside the iconic, entirely glass walled store well before the doors opened on Saturday morning. And a steady stream of customers and the curious continued to come throughout the day to get a hands-on experience with all of the latest Apple products, from laptops and tablets to watches and wireless accessories.
Mike Renfore traveled to Lynnfield from Beverly with his two young sons, Will and Merritt. They had first gone to Apple’s former location at the Northshore Mall, unaware that the Peabody store had closed on Friday and relocated to MarketStreet Lynnfield on Saturday.
WILL RENFORE, 10, and his dad Mike (at left) were among the first customers to attend the opening of Apple’s newest store on Saturday at MarketStreet Lynnfield. (Maureen Doherty Photo)
So they headed down to Lynnfield and they liked what they found. “This store is like, crazy. It stands out from everything else,” observed Will, who is 10 and was excited to be showing his dad features on a laptop computer on display.
Like their customers, Apple’s staff of technicians, geniuses, managers and other personnel who formerly worked at the Peabody location are also enjoying their new space with its floor-to-ceiling glass walls and doors that bring the outdoors inside and the indoors outside.
Randy Kenney, one of the store managers, remarked, “It’s beautiful. We’re happy to be here in this beautiful new space.”
A high definition video wall defines a cube seating area where anyone can gather and where classes and workshops will be held. There are also multiple workstations where customers can set up their computers and receive technical support from the staff. Running low on battery power? No problem. Simply wave your hand over the edge of the table and an electrical outlet will pop up enabling you to plug in a power cord.
“We offer technical support. We offer camps for children, where teachers can sign up their classrooms. They can come here and learn coding and all sorts of fun stuff,” Kenney said.
“You can find all of that information on our website as well,” he added.
But the camps aren’t just for the kids. Multiple free classes and workshops are offered daily at the store for all ages and all levels of interest and abilities. The staff will also coordinate workshops with teachers in which they can learn how to interact with the technology to enhance their curriculum and return to their classrooms to teach their students how to research specific subjects efficiently or enhance their projects.
To find out more about signing up for daily workshops, visit apple.com/retail/marketstreet.
