Apple’s days at Fair Oaks Mall are running low.
The tech giant will have its last day of business at the shopping mall (11750 Fair Oaks Mall) this Thursday (Nov. 7), an employee confirmed to FFXnow. The closure will precede a relocation to the nearby, outdoor shopping center Fairfax Corner, where the store will open Saturday (Nov. 9).
The Fair Oaks store will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Thursday before closing for the move on Friday (Nov. 8).
The Apple store opened its doors in Fair Oaks Mall on April 26, 2008, just a year after the company unveiled its first iPhone. Shoppers were greeted by cheering employees and a T-shirt giveaway for the first 1,000 visitors.
A public relations representative didn’t comment by press time on why Apple decided to leave Fair Oaks, but its older stores have been getting refreshed with a new, more natural-looking design introduced last year at Tysons Corner Center — the site of the original Apple store.
Apple’s Fairfax Corner store will feature a dedicated pickup area and a “refreshed” Genius Bar, where workers provide technical support to customers, according to the spokesperson.
“The new location … is opening just in time for customers in the Fairfax area to get ahead of their holiday shopping and find something for everyone on their list,” the spokesperson said by email. “Apple Specialists can also help shoppers shop, demo and learn about Apple products in a personalized one-on-one session.”
Located at 4221 Fairfax Corner East Avenue, the Apple store will occupy 12,128 square feet of a newly constructed building near Coastal Flats. The building will be shared with the furniture retailer Arhaus, which is relocating its showroom from the corner of Fairfax Corner East Avenue and Grand Commons Avenue.
The 36,000-square-foot new building will include 18,835 square feet across two floors for Arhaus, according to the Washington Business Journal, which first reported Apple’s relocation plans last November.
Fairfax Corner recently welcomed a pop-up shop from King Arthur Baking Company, and Arlington’s popular Southern comfort food restaurant Ruthie’s All Day announced plans to expand to the shopping center south of I-66 next year.
Plans for the soon-to-be-vacant Apple space at Fair Oaks are unclear, but plans to demolish the sales area ceiling and install new light fixtures were submitted to Fairfax County yesterday (Monday).
According to the WBJ, the 1.7-million-square-foot Fair Oaks Mall is now fully owned by the developer Olshan Properties after a split from fellow developer Taubman Centers. Earlier this year, Olshan secured a five-year extension on loans worth about $239 million after missing a November 2023 deadline.
A buildout for Ugly Dumpling is underway, but the business didn’t immediately return a request for comment on when its Fair Oaks location might open. The restaurant will be located in Suite G-213, the former On the Border space near Elevation Burger.
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