Tracy Hall (left, in baseball cap) prepares to be the first customer to cross the threshold of the new Apple Store. He said he had waited in line since 5:30 p.m. the previous day. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Mac fans welcome Apple to Crocker Park
By John Payne
Westlake
Published Sept. 17, 2008

Rain early Saturday morning didn’t keep Apple’s fans away as around 100 eager customers lined the sidewalk for the grand opening of the company's newest retail location at Crocker Park.

While some had the foresight to don ponchos or bring umbrellas, many in line stood for hours soaked to the bone in order to be among the first to peruse the products in the retail store when it opened at 10 a.m.

Tracy Hall, the first person in the long, wet line, arrived at 5:30 the previous afternoon in anticipation of the grand opening. Clad in a black poncho and some thoroughly waterlogged footwear, he had a nonchalant attitude about voluntarily waiting nearly 17 hours to set foot in a store.

“People have done it before and it seemed like a fun idea,” he said. “It’s just a different kind of experience. Plus I figured if I was going to stay overnight then I might as well be first in line.”

He was one of about 10 people who spent the night outside of the frameless glass windows of the Apple Store.

Customers and employees pack the Apple Store in Crocker Park minutes after its doors opened for the first time this past Saturday. Previously, the closest Apple Store was located in Legacy Village in Lyndhurst. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Occupying spots number two and three were Jeff Morin and his daughter Robyn. Jeff fondly remembered being first line in 2003 for the opening of the Apple Store in Legacy Village in Lyndhurst. The store at Crocker Park is Apple’s fourth fixture in Ohio. The other two are in Columbus and Cincinnati.

“I just like trying to support Apple coming into Northeast Ohio,” Morin said. “And I noticed that a lot of people in line here were also at the opening in Legacy Village.”

Morin, who worked for Apple at one point, clearly passed his enthusiasm onto his daughter, who beamed, “I’m pumped! I can’t wait to stand inside the Apple Store.”

Apple Store employees greet Bailey, 6, and his dad, Walter Harper of Bay Village at the store's grand opening Saturday. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Approximately 40 Apple employees scuttled around all morning, rousing the crowd with chants, clapping and attempts at starting a “wave.” They even brought out a ball game for the queuers to play.

“It reminds me of a birthday at a restaurant,” said Phil Dinovo of Sandusky, who arrived with his friend Kevin Bauer at 8 a.m. “You know, when you can see all the employees coming down the aisle clapping and singing. They’re really trying to keep everyone pumped up.”

When 10 o’clock finally rolled around, the effervescent staff, wearing bright blue shirts, gathered in a ring inside the store. Barack Obama would have been jealous of the amount of clapping and shouting they generated. And when the doors finally opened and Tracy Hall bemusedly crossed the threshold, he was greeted like a celebrity. The entire store was a blur of high-fives and hollering for the first 20 minutes it was open.

“As with anything Apple does, this was phenomenal,” said Dan Norman, Apple’s man in charge of the operation. “With all the rain, having even one person outside would have been fantastic. Obviously people have been wanting this.”

At 10:20 a.m., a bearded man raised his arms high and bellowed, “First purchase!” He was quickly corrected by the genuine first customer, Megan Roth, who bought the new iPod nano, which was unveiled on Sept. 9.

“I’m going to tell everyone every time I come back here that I was the first sale ever,” she said.

On the Net:

• Apple Inc.
• Apple Crocker Park retail store page
• Fan blog for Apple Crocker Park store