Tekserve

Tekserve was an American consumer electronics and information technology consulting business based in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1987 as a side business by Macintosh-using engineers designing computer-controlled institutional electronics, Tekserve grew from a small back-office Macintosh repair shop[1] to become the largest single-location Apple Specialist and Premium Service Provider in the United States.[2]

Tekserve
TypePrivate
IndustryRetail
Consulting
PredecessorCurrent Designs
FoundedNew York City, New York, U.S., 1987 (1987)
FounderRichard Demenus
David Lerner
SuccessorT2 Computing
Headquarters
40°44′36″N 73°59′36″W
New York City
,
United States
Area served
New York metropolitan area
ServicesApple sales and service
Number of employees
200 (2014)
WebsiteOfficial website

The store announced its closure on August 15, 2016, and the location subsequently became home to the Poster House museum.[3][4]

History
Tekserve's store entrance in 2014

Tekserve founders David Lerner and Dick Demenus met at the New York City public FM radio station WBAI in 1970, and with engineer Mike Edl set up shop together late in the decade under the name Current Designs Corporation.[1] Their business was electronic engineering and industrial design. They manufactured the indestructible music listening stations to be found at the Lincoln Center branch of the New York Public Library,[5] and early models of the audio listening tours now found in many art museums.[6][7]

Tekserve was formed as a "sister company under the same roof"[8] dedicated to servicing Macintosh computers and became Apple-authorized for repair in 1993.[9][10] Tekserve occupied four locations on the same side of the same block in Chelsea: a 3,000-foot (910 m) loft at 115 West 23rd Street;[1] another loft at 163 West 23rd Street (the "Traffic Building"); a larger space on the fourth floor of 155 West 23rd Street, and later expansions to the third floor. In June 2002, the company moved to a 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m2) storefront location at 119 West 23rd Street, occupying the entire first floor of the Printing Arts Building (which extends through to 24th street).[11][12] The first three locations were notable for their eccentric decor, including an antique ten-cent Coke machine, and a porch swing.

In 2014, Tekserve birthed a business-to-business enterprise, T2 Computing, based on core competencies and experiences, which continues to operate.[13] T2 became part of Axispoint in 2017, the latter acquiring the right to the Tekserve brand name.[14]

On June 29, 2016, the New York Times reported the retail store and service center would close, while certain elements of the business remained open. It ultimately closed a few weeks before the end of its lease due to changes in shopping habits, the presence of multiple Apple stores and increased rent.[15][4]

  • Several television series, including Law & Order[16] and Sex and the City, have utilized Tekserve's facilities as a shooting location.
  • In Sex and the City episode 408, "My Motherboard, Myself," Aasif Mandvi was featured as a Tekserve employee attempting to recover data from Carrie Bradshaw's portable computer at the smaller 155 West 23rd Street location.[17][18]
  • LaserWriter II, a novel by Tamara Shopsin, is about a 19-year-old girl who gets a job at Tekserve. The book introduces many different employees and offers a semi-fictional peek into the daily life of a printer technician at Tekserve.[19]
  • American Pickers visited the store shortly before closing and purchased some items from the owner's personal collection.[20] Other pieces from the store's Mac Museum ultimately ended up in a museum in Kiev, Ukraine operated by MacPaw.[21][22][23]

References
  1. Kadetsky, Elizabeth (September 1992). "Low-tech computer lab - Current Designs and Tekserve in New York City". Home Office Computing. FindArticles.com. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  2. "Computers and Electronics". Mayor's Office of Film, Theater, and Broadcasting. City of New York. Archived from the original on September 18, 2009. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  3. Marcus, Lilit (25 September 2017). "A peek inside New York's Poster House museum". CNN. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  4. Rojas, Rick (June 29, 2016). “Tekserve, Precursor to the Apple Store, to Close After 29 Years” “The New York Times” (The New York Times Company). N.Y. / Region. Retrieved June 29, 2016
  5. Nelson, Nancy Melin (September 1, 1989). "Current Designs: Macintosh-controlled audio stations". Computers in Libraries. encyclopedia.com. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  6. Mantilla, Olga (September 7, 2005). "Tekserve are the Mac daddies for all things Apple". The Villager. New York City: Community Media LLC. 75 (16). Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  7. Li, Kenneth (3 August 1997). "They Don't Stew, They Fix". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  8. Contrucci, Lance (November 18, 1991). "Comfy Computers". New York Magazine. New York City: New York Media LLC. 24 (45): 30. ISSN 0028-7369. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  9. Mulcahy, Conrad (21 March 2006). "The Errors Are Fatal, but Maybe There's Hope". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  10. Dana, Rebecca (March 13, 2005). "Revenge of the Apple Nerds". The New York Observer. The New York Observer LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  11. Cohen, Peter (June 3, 2002). "Tekserve moves to new NYC location tomorrow". Macworld.com. Mac Publishing. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
  12. Bernstein, Fred (June 20, 2002). "A Shop Where Fun Meets Function". The New York Times. pp. G6. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  13. "T2 Computing". tekserve.com. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  14. Novinson, Michael (11 January 2017). "Tekserve Lives Again: Axispoint Buys Legendary Apple Reseller Brand, B2B Subsidiary". CRN. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  15. Rajamani, Maya (30 June 2016). "Tekserve to Close After Nearly Three Decades in Chelsea". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  16. "$50,000 worth of Apple iPods topple like dominoes in Tekserve ad". MacDailyNews. MacDailyNews.com. April 26, 2006. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  17. Scheier, Rachel (June 18, 2001). "Repair shop is place to be for ailing PCs". New York Daily News. pp. 28, 29 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Sex and the City, My Motherboard, Myself (2001)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  19. Shopsin, Tamara (October 19, 2021). LaserWriter II. New York: MCD. ISBN 978-0374602574.
  20. Kalish, Jon (August 31, 2016). "Saying Farewell to Tekserve and Paying Big Bucks for Tech History". PC Mag. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  21. Haslam, Oliver (18 May 2021). "MacPaw is opening its own Apple museum in Kyiv, Ukraine". iMore. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  22. Ichikawa, Akiko (26 July 2016). "New Media Artists Mourn Tekserve, a Tech Oasis in New York". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  23. Kahney, Leander; Pierini, David (17 December 2019). The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition. No Starch Press. ISBN 978-1-59327-915-8. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
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