Tag: retailers

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 19, 20267:28 pm

Apple Store Turns 25

Twenty-five years ago today, the first Apple Store opened at Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va. I was there, covering the event for CNET News. Four days earlier, then CEO Steve Jobs briefed journalists and a handful of bloggers (an oddity back then) across the way at upper-scale Tysons Galleria. Skepticism hung heavy in the air, with respect to Jobs’ ambitions. Recession gripped the country and rival Gateway was in process of shuttering more than 400 retail shops. Everyone knew: Jobs was either genius or crazy.

But companies that take big risks during economic downturns are most likely to reap rewards later. Retail would be Apple’s third walk across the tightrope during 2001. The others: iTunes (January); OS X (March); iPod (October). I’ve said before that these four are foundation for all the company’s successes that followed, including iPhone.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 7, 202610:19 pm

Google Store, San Diego

I remember when Fashion Valley Mall had three tech branded boutique stores—Apple, Microsoft, and Sony. In my analysis, these digital lifestyle shops were the future of tech retail. But I was wrong. Microsoft Store opened in late June 2010 on the same day as Apple’s massive iPhone 4 launch. Microsoft shuttered all 83 stores 10 years later. Sony exited branded retail earlier, in 2014.

Fast-forward to the renewed future of digital lifestyle branded boutique stores. Tomorrow, Google joins thriving Apple Store as a Fashion Valley tech retailer. San Diego marks the 10th location, and it is well-placed, too—upper level across from the food court and in the same quadrant as Anthropologie, Banana Republic, and Oliver Peoples. That’s a high-traffic corridor.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 4, 20269:44 pm

What’s in a Grocer’s Name?

I made an organic milk run this evening and decided to take a stock shot. One of the many improvements that Samsung makes with the Galaxy S26 Ultra: Wider-aperture telephoto lenses that let in more light, which improves night shooting. The Featured Image, unedited and composed as captured, is good example. Vitals: f/2.9, ISO 640, 1/120 sec, 115mm (film equivalent); 8:51 p.m. PDT.

The choice of Sprouts is deliberate, and not just because I shopped there. The grocery store prohibits taking photos onsite; any attempt indoors will summon an employee lickety-split. In fact, if you need assistance and can’t find anyone around, pull out your phone and pretend to photograph something. It’s like rubbing the genie jar and poof.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 7, 20269:47 pm

Keeping Time with Changes

You may not like the Featured Image, but I do. On April 4, 2026, as I prepared to go out on a photo walk I pointed Nikon Zf with NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens attached towards the Kit-Cat to check the battery level. The moody lighting unexpectedly appealed to me, so I clicked the shutter button.

The clock hangs to the left of the Casabelle Mail Center that I purchased from Pier 1 Imports 17 years ago. The retailer went out of business during the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 lockdowns, closing the last stores in October 2020. But the desk remains and is back in full service. Our daughter is staying with us, and I abandoned my home office for her to use as a bedroom. Cluttered and cramped best describes our 772-square-foot apartment right now. But we’re glad to have her here, and using the Casabelle is small sacrifice.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 4, 20269:31 pm

San Diego City Attorney Says Sex Shop

The questions: Why now? Who benefits?

For as long as I can remember, a massage parlor has quietly beckoned customers from the corner of Adams and Georgia here in the otherwise quaint village of University Heights. My wife and I have occasionally discussed its odd presence, with the presumption being the place peddles sex as much as massage.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 3, 20269:24 pm

Serving Brooklyn Style

Here’s a simple photo for a Good Friday evening that has nothing to do with the commemoration. The celebration of Jesus Christ’s brutal murder—execution as insurrectionist (He claimed to be a king)—never feels right to me. Let’s talk about meaning, and what matters about his life and death, on Easter Sunday. The resurrection is by far more meaningful, although it was purchased at incredible cost.

As for Sonny’s Pizza, the place first opened for business around the time I shot the Featured Image, May 6, 2025. The eatery is located where was Florabella, on Madison just off Park Blvd, here in the village of University Heights. The florist closed at the end of June 2018 in response to tripling of the rent. Maybe the landlord was hasty and greedy, because the retail space stayed mostly unoccupied for nearly 7 years.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 31, 20269:24 pm

What a Concept!

Get clean laundry and, as a bonus, teeth cleaned at the same time. Put in a load of clothes, climb into the dentist chair, and vroom. While the washer does the final rinse, you will get the final rinse of your mouth. Remember to spit! There’s debris to expel and fluoride grit, too.

Honestly, I laughed when seeing the store signage along Adams Avenue in San Diego neighborhood Normal Heights on March 26, 2026, and then connecting how someone like me would read the thing. Regardless the intentions, what a concept!

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 4, 20269:03 pm

For the King of the Throne

Oddly, we are not done with cats. Unexpectedly, once again, the topic turns to fancy litter boxes on sale at Costco. In October 2025, the product was a robotic pooper scooper on sale for 599.99 (one-hundred bucks off).

By comparison, the new offering is a bargain.: $389.99. The Featured Image is clear: Your cat can be king (or queen) of the throne, and you can monitor the animal’s health progress based on its, ah, business. Ah, okay. For our cat family, no thanks.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 27, 20269:12 pm

You can Resist!

I don’t long for sweets like days gone by. Thirteen years ago in July, I radically changed my diet by vastly cutting carbohydrates and reducing added sugars to a nearly immeasurable amount. My health improved, my weight dropped, and I avoided diabetes; my doctor had been ready to put me on an insulin regime. Not necessary.

Discipline and self-control are possible, and I say that to everyone who wants a lifestyle of having your cake and eating it, too. You can’t have both. Eat your cake, or donut, and there will be consequences to your health. I love pasta, for example, and consumed it heartedly. I gave it up. You can, too.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 23, 20268:38 pm

When Less is More

When Twiggs shuttered both locations—Park Blvd in University Heights, Adams Ave in North Park—in October 2023, many locals, me included, were blindsided. The coffee shops operated for about three decades successfully—granted, changing owners several times and more recently a few years before the sudden end.

New shops replaced both storefronts. The one on Park simply took over the space, with so little changes that one might not realize that Twiggs ever went away. But over on Adams, the new coffee shop is a complete makeover. The change isn’t just dramatic; the place stands apart from every other coffee shop in the five-community locales of Kensington, Hillcrest, Normal Heights, North Park, and University Heights.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 6, 202610:08 pm

Funny Bunny

You are looking at my first purchase from Etsy, and I am surprised that we still have it. I ordered the “Amigurumi Flowery pink bunny rabbit with matching bag” for our daughter on July 27, 2006. Yep, that’s 20 years ago this summer. Pricey but handmade: $28 before shipping fee.

I don’t shop Etsy often, but it’s my go-to when looking for hand-crafted, hard-to-find, or specialty items. I am impressed with any of the early dot-com e-shops that survived all matter of doom—from economic calamities to mismanagement to pandemic shutdowns. May Etsy continue to be a survivor.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 24, 202512:23 pm

Your Pet is Not Your Child!

Cue the music. I had a Twilight Zone moment today. While walking into PetSmart, I heard the cashier tell a customer about weekend festivities. The store will welcome self-described pet parents to celebrate Halloween. There will be “treat stations set up throughout the store”, the checker said. Oh, and of course, humans are encouraged to bring their animal(s) dressed in costume. Seriously? What alternate universe have I unexpectedly entered?

Trick or treat will be Sunday, that’s Oct. 26, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Don’t have a costume for fido or frisky? No problem, PetSmart sells them. Treats are free (I presume), assuming your animal is smart enough to find any. The trick is for those beasts unable to sniff out any, I guess.