Apple Store in riot-ravaged Minneapolis permanently closed

The Apple Retail Store, Apple Uptown, located at 3018 Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota has been permanently closed.

Nicole Norfleet for The Minneapolis Star Tribune:

The Apple store in Uptown will close permanently, the latest in a growing list of shops and restaurants that have recently abandoned the beleaguered south Minneapolis retail center.

Apple has had a presence near the bustling corner of Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street for the last decade. It informed its about 60 employees Wednesday that the store would close.

The store had yet to reopen since March when the state’s stay-at-home orders to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic forced many retail establishments to temporarily shutter… In May, the Apple store was one of nearly 40 businesses near the corner that was damaged by rioters.

While the damage did accelerate the timing of the closure, Apple was already in discussions to close the store before the pandemic and the riots, the company said.

“Our stores in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area have served customers for 19 years, and our nearly 500 team members look forward to helping our customers for a long, long time,” Apple said Thursday in a statement. “Though we’ve made the difficult decision to permanently close Apple Uptown, all of our valued team members will be offered other positions within Apple and we look forward to continuing to serve our customers at our four nearby stores.”

MacDailyNews Take: When even an Apple Store can’t make it in your area, you’ve got problems.

In the state of Minnesota, there are currently four other Apple Retail Stores:

• Bloomington, Mall of America
• Edina, Southdale
• Minnetonka, Ridgedale
• Roseville, Rosedale Center