Type Private Predecessor Current Designs | Industry Retail
Consulting Number of employees 200 (2014) | |
Area served New York metropolitan area Services Apple sales and service Founded 1987, New York City, New York, United States Headquarters New York City, New York, United States Founders Richard Demenus, David Lerner | ||
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 has grown from a small back-office Macintosh repair shop to become the largest single-location Apple Specialist and Premium Service Provider in the United States.
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The store announced it would be closing on August 15, 2016.
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, and early models of the audio listening tours now found in many art museums. "We bought the very first Mac that came out in 1984 for $3,000, and we fell in love with it." Demenus says, "We’ve been loyal ever since." As Macintosh users and electrical engineers, the Current Designs partners found themselves uniquely qualified to fix their own Macs when they started to malfunction. Tekserve was formed as a "sister company under the same roof" dedicated to servicing Macintosh computers and became Apple-authorized for repair in 1993.
Tekserve has 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; 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 its present 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). The first three locations were notable for their eccentric decor, including an antique five-cent Coke machine, and a porch swing. The Coke machine remains at the 119 West 23rd Street location, but the porch swing was retired due to the newest space's substantially higher ceilings.
On Wednesday, June 29th, 2016, The NY Times reported the retail store and service center will close after 29 years of business, while the "corporate sales and professional services, as well as...an operation focused on small- and medium-size businesses" will continue to operate. Tekserve management cited Apple's continued market success together with the consequent seeming ubiquity of retail outlets to support its products as reasons for the decision to close the store and its repair service.
Retail store
Tekserve’s flagship store on 23rd Street stocks a wide variety of Mac configurations, hardware, and accessories. They also offer rentals, workshops, and service support. As New York City’s only Apple Premium Service Provider, Tekserve repairs and upgrades over 30,000 Apple products per year. In addition, Tekserve offers an extensive data recovery service for Mac, Windows, and Linux users.
In popular culture
Several television series, including Law & Order 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.