Business & Tech

Apple Reseller, MacSpecialist, Headed to Oak Park

Lake Street business will offer resale, repair for Apple customers.

Having a Mac attack?

Pretty soon, you'll be able to repair, shop for and play with Apple products in Oak Park.

MacSpecialist, which bills itself as the "premiere Apple reseller in the Chicago metro area," will open a new store at 805 Lake St., the former site of a Baird & Warner real estate office.

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The store will sell all manner of Apple products like iPads and Mac computers, as well third-party accessories. (But no iPhones; that's about the one item that Apple won't allow them to sell. But the device will be serviced there.)

OK. But all of that stuff is already available for purchase online, in Apple stores and even at area Best Buy stores. So what will separate MacSpecialist for local shoppers?

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Simply put, expert repairs and accessible training, all from serious Apple enthusiasts.  No more schlepping downtown, to Oak Brook or some other far-flung suburb to have your products serviced.

"We’re really unique in the aspect," said Kevin Shea, MacSpecialist's director of business development. "We belong to special channel...of independent companies offering same products and services as Apple...But you’re going to have a community of people that understand we're part of the local scene."

The shopping experience at MacSpecialists won't be unlike what you find at Apple's traditional retail stores – products out in the open, ready to be explored. And Shea said the vast majority of repairs will be taken care of in-house.

The company, which debuted as an authorized Apple reseller in the 1980s as a Glen Ellyn storefront, plans to move their headquarters from Chicago to the Oak Park store. With the move, they plan to bring some 20 jobs to the area. (And they're hiring.)

The store plans to open its doors Oct. 1 with prize giveaways, the details of which are being kept secret until later this fall.

"Everyone we’ve been talking to has been really excited about us moving into Oak Park, even more than we are," Shea said. "Which is astounding because we're really excited."


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