This is a very sad day. All my Apple computers have come from Tekserve, the wonderful indy on 23rd Street–I’ve never shopped anywhere else–and today they announced that they’re closing after 30 years of providing New Yorkers with an adult alternative to McApple’s (a.k.a. The Apple Store).

Click on image for Tekserve website

What I loved about this place was the fact that the employees actually knew more than the customers about the products they were selling. (They were also old enough to vote.) Unlike their creepy corporate cookie-cutter competitor, Tekserve’s trial period and tough written exams for potential employees screened out 99.9% of applicants, and the waiting list for employment there was legendary.

Now, thanks to rising NYC rents and the “mall mentality” that’s taking over the world, we’re losing our last bastion of excellent, personalized Apple service in pleasant surroundings. First the indy bookstores, then the grocery stores, and now the iast decent tech store. Where the heck am I gonna shop for Apple products now? (Don’t tell me–I know the answer.) Sigh.

The NY1 announcement is HERE.

Farewell to one more in a long line of vanishing landmarks that once made NYC unique. Say hello to Disney World. Welcome to Starbuck’s. Do you want fries with that? It’s no longer a jungle out there–it’s a freaking theme park.