It’s been more than a year since Mac Specialist, an apple-affiliated retailer, closed its doors at 805 Lake St. This week, a new computer store, Gala-Tec, took its place.
Alan Dworkin, owner of Gala-Tec, a family operation he runs with his son, James, and wife, Lisa, is an Apple service provider, meaning the shop provides repairs to any product Apple manufactures. Apple has yet to authorize service providers to repair its new line of smart watches, but Dworkin said Gala-Tec is capable of facilitating watch repair.
The store will have its grand opening on Aug. 15.
In addition to being an Apple service provider and authorized Apple reseller, the store also is “capable of working on the dark side” — that is, providing repair services for PC owners, Dworkin joked.
He said Gala-Tec will be different from other service providers in the Chicago area because it’s a small family-owned and -operated business.
“[Customers] will be dealing with the owner of the company, not an hourly employee,” said Dworkin, noting that with his son and his service director, Buster, the store has a combined 81 years of experience with Apple products. Dworkin said he’s been selling and repairing Apples and Macs since the late ’90s, when he retired from his job as a commodities trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. A few years later, he launched an Apple consulting business and never looked back.
Dworkin said he’s wanted to open a storefront for some time but didn’t pull the trigger until recently when his son decided to come onboard.
“James was working at Verizon and texted me and said: ‘If you want to open a store, then let’s do it,'” Dworkin recalled.
He said the shop picked the name Gala from the variety of apple. “Apple does not let new dealers use the word Mac or Apple in the name; Gala is an apple and also a festive event,” he said.
The shop is slightly over 2,000 square feet, which could allow Gala-Tec to eventually grow into a larger space.
In addition to official Apple computers and products, the store also will offer third-party iPhone and iPad accessories and third-party hard drives and networking equipment.
All their products are available on the Gala-Tec website as well.
Gala-Tec comes a little more than a year after Mac Specialist, an Apple-affiliated retailer at the same location, closed shop.Â