From a parallel universe: The Apple Cafe

It would've work as well as an Internet Cafe or a Cine-Grill, yet it appeals to a nitch market and the fan boys would've loved it. It would've worked, not like Starbucks, but enough to stay business in the right location.

i say do it.

"The Apple Cafe was to be a high-tech cybercafe where you could order healthy food while videoconferencing with people at nearby tables, surfing the Web, and pulling up movies or TV shows on a small kiosk screen at your table."

The designs shown are a bit out there but otherwise this is pretty much exactly like where I worked in 1996. Cybersmith was a small chain (4 stores) of high-end Internet cafes in the mid/late 90s. Food, Internet access, networked gaming, videoconferencing, and more. That chain didn't survive long, and Internet cafes in general are not around like they used to be, so it's probably best Apple didn't go this route. :-)

So that's where the Apple retail store ideas came from... Kinda reminds me of a junkier version of the typical Apple stores popping up all over. They are in the cafe business except they don't sell coffee...

Have I been listening to the new Depeche Mode record just one to many times, or are there some references to the song "Perfect" in this article?
if so, then thats very cool.

It looks exactly like the restaurant in Back to the Future II. Tons of video screens, late 80's/90's-ish design sensibilities. All that's missing is the wacky clothes, Ronald Reagan waiter avatars, and exercise bikes.

I dearly love BTTF both sincerely and ironically, so I'd eat there if the employees there were in on the joke.

Okay but I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of Apple Stores selling coffee drinks (in spill-proof containers, of course) and having a nice lounge area with free wi-fi. I mean, I miss the theater area my local Apple Store used to have. I remember watching the MacWorld keynote live there as Jobs announced the 12" PowerBook. Making it an even more social place wouldn't be a bad thing IMHO. They'd probably sell even more and discussing software, OS tips, general usage, etc. with other Mac users is always a good time in my book!

Wow. I so remember when internet cafes were all the rage. They were actually kinda nice for fast internet, but home DSL hit the scene and they dried up.

looks like they kept the stools for the "genius" bar :)

Yeah, it looks bad to us looking at it in 2009, but 15 years ago, this was the sort of thing investors were really going for. Ultimately, most failed, and the Apple Cafe probably would have too. Hindsight is 20/20, but it's good someone saw the writing on the wall before Apple focused on this instead of the iPod.