Apple Uptown retail store in Minneapolis is closing permanently

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

The store hadn’t reopened since March when it closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the killing of George Floyd 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 in a statement to the Star Tribune. “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.”

(Dennis Sellers has been covering the Apple industry since 1996. In addition to“Apple World Today,” he also runs his own freelance writing/editing service. If you want more info about the latter, email him at dennis.sellers@comcast.net.)