T he Seattle Times is confirming what our friends at MacNN reported yesterday, that Apple is opening up a retail Apple Store in Big Redmondis back yard. According to the Seattle Times, Apple is opening up an Apple Store in the Seattle area, specifically in the Bellevue Square mall in Puget Sound, Washington. MacNN broke the story yesterday when it reported that Apple had listed job openings for a Mac Genius and other Apple Store personnel for the Bellevue area. From the Seattle Times article:
Apple Computer apparently has found a location to open its first Seattle-area retail store, nearly two years after the bricks-and-mortar outlets were introduced to the national market.
A spokesperson for Bellevue Square Managers, which operates the Eastside regional mall, confirmed that Apple has signed a lease for 4,600 square feet with an expectation to open the store as early as next summer.
The newspaper says that the store will open sometime in the summer of 2003. There is more in the full story, including background information on Apple Stores, and comments from an Apple retailer in the area.