Edible Apple

There’s no denying that Apple’s foray into retail played an integral part in the company’s resurgence from the brink of bankruptcy into a successful, and more importantly, extremely profitable corporation. In the years prior, Apple products were often hard to find, and if you were lucky enough to find a store that housed gear from Apple, it was often neglected and displayed in hard to find and poorly layed out ares of the store.

Nowadays, Apple has well over 300 retail stores that are renowned for their user friendliness, architecture, and even building materials. By controlling the narrative over their own products, Apple was successfully able to present its products to the masses in an appealing way, and now, for reasons that somewhat defy rational explanation, the first Apple retail store is becoming something of a legend unto itself.

Forget the famed Apple Cube, or even its new and stylish digs in France. No, the first Apple Store opened up in the Glendale Galleria mall located in California. It first opened up for business on May 19, 2001, and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

But Apple nerds are a particular bunch, and not only do they strive not to forget it, some even go so far as to re-live it.

Reuters reports:

Staff couldn’t talk officially to a visiting reporter, but they did say they do nothing to encourage the store’s cult status. Nevertheless, every few weeks, die-hard fans stop by and take pictures or engage them in conversation about the store’s pedigree.

Some visitors return home and brag online about purchasing gear at the Glendale branch, part of a vigorous game of one-upmanship about the number and quality of the Apple stores they have visited.

Now that’s taking Apple fandom to a whole new level!