Tekserve
{{Short description|Consumer electronics and IT business}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Tekserve
| logo = Tekserve Logo.jpg
| image = Tekserve Storefront 01.png
| image_caption = Store entrance in 2014
| type = Private
| predecessor = Current Designs
| successor = T2 Computing
| foundation = New York City, New York, U.S., {{Start date|1987}}
| founder = Richard Demenus
David Lerner
| location_city = {{coord|40|44|36|N|73|59|36|W|type:landmark_region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
New York City
| location_country = United States
| area_served = New York metropolitan area
| industry = Retail
Consulting
| services = Apple sales and service
| num_employees = 200 (2014)
| homepage = {{Official website|http://www.tekserve.com}}
}}
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{{cite journal|last=Kadetsky|first=Elizabeth|date=September 1992 |title=Low-tech computer lab - Current Designs and Tekserve in New York City |journal=Home Office Computing |publisher=FindArticles.com |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1563/is_n9_v10/ai_12617179/ |accessdate=August 1, 2009}} to become the largest single-location Apple Specialist and Premium Service Provider in the United States.{{cite web |title=Computers and Electronics |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/discounts/computers_electronics.shtml |work=Mayor's Office of Film, Theater, and Broadcasting |publisher=City of New York |accessdate=August 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918183043/http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/discounts/computers_electronics.shtml |archive-date=September 18, 2009 }}
The store announced its closure on August 15, 2016, and the location subsequently became home to the Poster House museum.{{cite news |last1=Marcus |first1=Lilit |title=A peek inside New York's Poster House museum |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/new-york-poster-house-museum/index.html |access-date=5 July 2021 |work=CNN |date=25 September 2017 |language=en}}
History
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. 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,{{cite journal|last=Nelson |first=Nancy Melin |date=September 1, 1989 |title=Current Designs: Macintosh-controlled audio stations |journal=Computers in Libraries |publisher=encyclopedia.com |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-7941615.html |accessdate=August 1, 2009}} and early models of the audio listening tours now found in many art museums.{{cite journal|last=Mantilla |first=Olga |date=September 7, 2005 |title=Tekserve are the Mac daddies for all things Apple |journal=The Villager |publisher=Community Media LLC |location=New York City |volume=75 |issue=16 |url=http://www.thevillager.com/villager_123/tekservearethemacdaddies.html |accessdate=August 1, 2009}}{{cite news |last1=Li |first1=Kenneth |title=They Don't Stew, They Fix |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/money/1997/08/03/199 |access-date=5 July 2021 |work=New York Daily News |date=3 August 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204025138/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/money/1997/08/03/1997-08-03_they_don_t_stew__they_fix.html |archive-date=4 February 2011}}
Tekserve was formed as a "sister company under the same roof"{{cite journal |last=Contrucci |first=Lance |date=November 18, 1991 |title=Comfy Computers |journal=New York Magazine |publisher=New York Media LLC |location=New York City |volume=24 |issue=45 |pages=30 |issn=0028-7369|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zugCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30|accessdate=August 1, 2009}} dedicated to servicing Macintosh computers and became Apple-authorized for repair in 1993.{{cite news |last1=Mulcahy |first1=Conrad |title=The Errors Are Fatal, but Maybe There's Hope |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/21/nyregion/the-errors-are-fatal-but-maybe-theres-hope.html |access-date=5 July 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=21 March 2006}}{{cite news|url=http://www.observer.com/node/50508|title=Revenge of the Apple Nerds |last=Dana |first=Rebecca |date=March 13, 2005 |work=The New York Observer|publisher=The New York Observer LLC|accessdate=August 1, 2009}} Tekserve occupied four locations on the same side of the same block in Chelsea: a {{convert|3000|ft|m|adj=on}} loft at 115 West 23rd Street; 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 {{convert|25000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} storefront location at 119 West 23rd Street, occupying the entire first floor of the Printing Arts Building (which extends through to 24th street).{{cite web |url=http://www.macworld.com/article/5196/2002/06/tekserve.html |title=Tekserve moves to new NYC location tomorrow |first=Peter |last=Cohen |date=June 3, 2002 |work=Macworld.com |publisher=Mac Publishing |accessdate=December 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611060124/http://www.macworld.com/article/5196/2002/06/tekserve.html |archive-date=June 11, 2011 }}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/20/technology/essay-a-shop-where-fun-meets-function.html?scp=1&sq=tekserve&st=cse|title=A Shop Where Fun Meets Function|last=Bernstein|first=Fred|date=June 20, 2002|work=The New York Times|pages=G6|accessdate=August 1, 2009}} 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.{{cite web |title=T2 Computing |url=https://www.tekserve.com |website=tekserve.com |access-date=January 3, 2022 |language=en}} T2 became part of Axispoint in 2017, the latter acquiring the right to the Tekserve brand name.{{cite news |last1=Novinson |first1=Michael |title=Tekserve Lives Again: Axispoint Buys Legendary Apple Reseller Brand, B2B Subsidiary |url=https://www.crn.com/news/channel-programs/300083351/tekserve-lives-again-axispoint-buys-legendary-apple-reseller-brand-b2b-subsidiary.htm |access-date=5 July 2021 |work=CRN |date=11 January 2017}}
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.{{cite news |last1=Rajamani |first1=Maya |title=Tekserve to Close After Nearly Three Decades in Chelsea |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160630/chelsea/tekserve-close-after-nearly-three-decades-chelsea/ |access-date=5 July 2021 |work=DNAinfo New York |date=30 June 2016 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184931/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160630/chelsea/tekserve-close-after-nearly-three-decades-chelsea/ |url-status=dead }}Rojas, Rick (June 29, 2016). [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/30/nyregion/tekserve-precursor-to-the-apple-store-to-close-after-29-years.html?_r=0 “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
In popular culture
- Several television series, including Law & Order{{cite web |url=http://www.macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/9381/ |title=$50,000 worth of Apple iPods topple like dominoes in Tekserve ad |date=April 26, 2006 |work=MacDailyNews |publisher=MacDailyNews.com |accessdate=August 1, 2009}} 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.{{Cite news|last=Scheier|first=Rachel|date=June 18, 2001|title=Repair shop is place to be for ailing PCs|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95446845/daily-news/ 28], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95446875/daily-news/ 29]|work=New York Daily News|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite web |title=Sex and the City, My Motherboard, Myself (2001) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0698650/ |work=Internet Movie Database |accessdate= August 4, 2009}}
- 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.{{cite book |last1=Shopsin |first1=Tamara |title=LaserWriter II |date=October 19, 2021 |publisher=MCD |location=New York |isbn=978-0374602574}}
- American Pickers visited the store shortly before closing and purchased some items from the owner's personal collection.{{cite magazine |last=Kalish |first=Jon |date=August 31, 2016 |title=Saying Farewell to Tekserve and Paying Big Bucks for Tech History |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/347428/saying-farewell-to-tekserve-and-paying-big-bucks-for-tech-hi |magazine=PC Mag |access-date=June 11, 2017 }} Other pieces from the store's Mac Museum ultimately ended up in a museum in Kyiv, Ukraine operated by MacPaw.{{cite news |last1=Haslam |first1=Oliver |title=MacPaw is opening its own Apple museum in Kyiv, Ukraine |url=https://www.imore.com/macpaw-opening-its-own-apple-museum-kyiv-ukraine |access-date=5 July 2021 |work=iMore |date=18 May 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Ichikawa |first1=Akiko |title=New Media Artists Mourn Tekserve, a Tech Oasis in New York |url=https://hyperallergic.com/313770/new-media-artists-mourn-tekserve-a-tech-oasis-in-new-york/ |access-date=5 July 2021 |work=Hyperallergic |date=26 July 2016}}{{cite book |last1=Kahney |first1=Leander |last2=Pierini |first2=David |title=The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition |date=17 December 2019 |publisher=No Starch Press |isbn=978-1-59327-915-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=joBxDwAAQBAJ&dq=Tekserve&pg=PA97 |access-date=5 July 2021 |language=en}}
References
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