Hundreds await debut of Apple store at Americana

Just as the sun started to make its presence felt Saturday,

tan and black umbrellas popped open at the front of a long line of people.

The line snaked east to Brand Boulevard from the Americana at Brand fountain.

A DJ was bobbing to the tunes he was spinning atop an orange trolley as the crowd chatted, took photos and waited patiently.

The roughly 400 people who were in line, some since 4 a.m., were awaiting the 10 a.m. opening of the Apple Store at the Americana.

A Glendale graphic designer, Miguel Roan, 26, had the honor of being first in line.

“They allow anyone to line up at 4 a.m., so I was here at 4 a.m.,” he said.

When the iPhone 4 debuted at the Apple Store at the Glendale Galleria, Roan said he was in line at 3 a.m.

Neil Polzin said he was in line at about 6 or 7 a.m. and was waiting on a free T-shirt.

“It’s the same crazy people all the time,” he said, adding that this was probably his 12th appearance at a store opening.

“We know each other from work or from other openings,” he said, pointing to some of the people standing next to him.

The Americana staff with umbrellas hadn’t made their way to those in line near the street.

“I’m asking myself the same question,” Tee Bosustow, 73, said of standing in line to get into the Apple Store, braving the sun without an umbrella.

The Burbank resident said that he has been using Macs since 1971, and that his most recent purchase was a MacPro laptop.

“My daughter said I should get a laptop, and now I wonder why I didn’t get one before,” he said. “I take it everywhere.”

Bosustow, whose family worked in animation, said he was surprised a store was opening so close to the existing store at the Galleria.

“It doesn’t seem that busy to me,” he said, wondering why Burbank has no Apple Store.

Inside the store, Lisa Bronk, 48, wanted to talk to an employee about signing up for workshops.

“I’m excited to have an Apple Store across the street and here,” she said. “A lot of times, if I want a workshop or a general appointment and I can’t get in, now [another store] is right across the street.”

Owen Thomas, 26, a former Pasadena Apple Store employee, said the Americana store was definitely larger than Pasadena, noting capacity in Pasadena was about 160 people. He estimated capacity at the Americana store at 300.

Glendale police were mearby to ensure everything went smoothly, as they were told 1,000 people might show up. Officers estimated the crowd at up to 400 people before the store opened.

[Editor’s note: This story has been updated from an earlier version to clarify that Neil Polzin is not an Apple employee.]