It’s pretty common to see a line of tech enthusiasts form along New York City’s Fifth Avenue on the day new gadgets are released. But this time was different.
They weren’t waiting outside an Apple store. Instead everyone was just a few blocks down the road at Microsoft’s newest retail location.
It's not Apple long but decent size line outside #Microsoft flagship store on 5th Ave. Opens at noon. pic.twitter.com/0qN4SbRhRS
— Mark Spoonauer (@mspoonauer) October 26, 2015
The company had been stirring up buzz around the grand opening event for a couple weeks now, giving away free food, bringing in Pitbull for a concert and hiding giveaways all around town.
Woooo I won an umbrella ?@MicrosoftStore pic.twitter.com/F1226eruXB
— Declan Pitts (@16bitDec) October 25, 2015
Things seem to have gone off without a hitch, and Microsoft’s largest store yet is now officially open for business.
Our Microsoft Flagship Store is officially open in NYC! #MicrosoftNYC pic.twitter.com/w9gG1baa70
— Microsoft Store (@MicrosoftStore) October 26, 2015
The five-story, 22,269-square-foot space sits along New York City’s famed Fifth Avenue. It features Microsoft’s response to Apple’s Genius Bar called the Answer Desk, space to test and buy products made by Microsoft and its partners and a Community Theater where the company says customers will be able to “learn how to use Microsoft’s latest and most popular products in their everyday work and lives.”
The company’s events page show it’s more than just a place to buy a computer. It’s also hosting product demos, celebrity events and even coding classes for kids and adults.
GeekWire stopped by the store before it opened earlier this month. While the building isn’t nearly as iconic as Apple’s glass cube just a few blocks away, it will certainly be an easily recognizable landmark right in the heart of the country’s biggest city. 
