This 1997 Apple Cafe concept looks like Apple Mac-enhanced retro wonderland
Those who lived and breathed technology in 1997, will remember a time where innovation was at a turning point, and many of the cool gadgets and technologies we take for granted today were barely transitioning from being a glimpse into the imagination of pioneers like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, to becoming the first prototypes of a bigger vision that would shape modern computing for decades.
During that time, as Steve Jobs returned to Apple, an idea was formed, and almost reached physical form.
Apple Cafe was a concept that took partial inspiration from a late-90s trend, when cyber-cafe’s were all the rage, not only on University campuses, but also in plain-old downtown areas where regular users would gather and sit at public computers, for a moderately low hourly fee, and check emails, browse the web, play games, while enjoying a variety of drinks and foods.
The trend took off worldwide, to a point where Apple saw fit to explore the possibility of creating a Apple-themed cafe’s, for Apple fans to gather, socialize, and of course, use the latest Apple tech.
Tony Christopher, who was founder of the Landmark Entertainment Group at Disney, was hired to create initial concepts for the commercial space, with some input from Steve Jobs himself.
The illustrations and concepts created by Christopher and Jobs, told a story of customers patronizing high-tech retail spaces with digital screens at every table, that could be used to order food and drinks, play games, surf the Web, and even design websites, the latter of which was a nod to young, trendy tech professionals, looking for public places to use as physical forum of discussion.
As previously mentioned, Apple reached a point where it was very close to actually moving forward with the project. A website was already being created, and official openings were being planned around the world, including PAris, London, New York, Tokyo and Sydney.
UK-based real estate company Mega Bytes International was a major partner in Apple plans for the development of the new commercial spaces. Unfortunately, the company decided to ultimately pull-back from the project.
Apple Stores opened worldwide, eventually, with the first inauguration of 491 worldwide locations in 2001, in over 20 countries, with a far different theme, focused on retail, as we know them today.
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