Apple's fifth Manhattan location opened in Grand Central Station at 10 a.m. today — and if not for the inevitable hordes of frenzied shoppers that descended upon it, the 23,000-square-foot shop could have gone unnoticed by busy commuters. That's because, unlike with the tech juggernaut's celebrated glass-box outlets around the world, here the retail operation was designed to disappear into its surroundings.
One of the largest Apple stores in the world — second only to London’s Regent Street location, in fact — the Grand Central outpost has a surprisingly understated presence. Deferring to the vaulted landmark's iconic interior, the retail space comprises only simple white tables set up beneath the celestial ceiling, with illuminated white Apple logos tastefully seeded throughout the store. It stretches across the east balcony where Charlie Palmer’s Metrazur restaurant (which Apple paid $5 million to vacate eight years earlier than scheduled) formerly stood, measuring in at 23,000 square feet, with no glass cubes in sight.
The retail hot spot is not without controversy. The store is under a 10-year lease with the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the details of which have raised suspicions that its receiving sweetheart deal from the MTA. Unlike most Grand Central tenants, which include more than 70 other shops and restaurants, Apple will not have to share its revenues with its landlord. Reportedly the company will only be paying $60 per square foot, well below the price its neighbors are paying, according to the New York Post. New York state’s Committee on Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions has begun a probe on the store’s lease.
Whether or not Apple received special treatment, the enormous foot traffic of Grand Central (roughly 750,000 visitors per day, and 1 million during the holidays) combined with the company's power over its spellbound consumers mean an inevitable surge in business for everyone involved, including surrounding businesses.
Bending to the hectic conditions of the train station, Apple has adapted its shopping method to suit harried commuters: an iPhone app that allows customers to check out their own purchases without having any cumbersome interactions with actual humans. Yes, you can pick up the latest gadget and still make your train on time — and hardly even notice that you were in a store.