Odana Road Mac Shop is now Willy Street MacXprts

Jeff Richgels  —  10/17/2008 2:12 pm

As he took a break from putting the finishing touches on his new MacXprts store at 804 Williamson St. Thursday -- a day before its opening -- owner Jonathan Neese said the area was always where he wanted the store to be.

"We looked at several locations in this area," Neese recalled. "We were trying to embrace Madison, local, being a part of the community -- being more central but accessible is always what we've wanted to be. But at the time the options weren't the best and we had to go with a place to open and Odana Road happened to be that location."

That is how what was then the Mac Shop ended up at 6033 Odana Road in 2005.

Neese admitted to being sad when Moco Market opened at 804 Williamson St. in April 2007, because of the 1,300-square-foot space's "great street presence."

At the time, he couldn't move because of his lease. But now, for almost a year, he has been on a monthly lease, so when Moco Market closed in July ("MoCo Market closing; concept was 'too new' to work in Madison"), Neese was able to grab the site.

"I feel very good about it," Neese said of the move. "We've got some wonderful dynamics. It's a wonderful neighborhood."

As he'd done with every site he's investigated, Neese talked to other local business owners before moving on the site and got nothing but glowing reports.

"So many of them have been here for years and these are people that are definitely destination (businesses) -- they get people from all over," he said.

That focus on being part of the community is reflected in MacXprts' tagline: "Think Global, Mac Local."

The Odana Road Mac Shop did offer great synergy with the Apple Store at West Towne Mall when it opened in 2007, but Neese hopes that will continue even at a greater distance.

"I think we definitely can still continue to work on that relationship making sure Macintosh users in Madison are well taken care of," Neese said.

While the Apple Store can make in-warranty repairs, Neese's store can offer customers in- and out-of-warranty repair service.

In addition, Neese's store carries a variety of non-Apple devices that work with Apple products that the official Apple outlet won't carry.

"We don't have to carry things because a corporation has told us to carry them," Neese said. "We can make decisions based on our own research, our own views. We try out items and decide if they're worth or not."

MacXprts, which can sell iPods but not the iPhone, also will carry a very different vibe from the Apple Store, he said.

"There you get the mall experience -- sort of in your face, bright -- we're more laid back," he said. "We're trying to marry a coffee shop with a technology store. We have a patio, seating and free Wi-Fi so you can just come in and get comfortable.

"And we're here to help you any way you need it. Maybe you need some expert advice. Maybe your old computer needs some work. It's more in tune with Madison."

That expertise led to the name change from Mac Shop to MacXprts, Neese said.

"It better reflects what customers have told us, 'You folks are really experts, " he said. "We felt our name was too similar to Apple Store and didn't really reflect who we were. Are you going to go to the store or are you going to go to the experts?"

Neese said he also was drawn to the environmental ethos of Moco Market owner Megan Ramey and how it played out in the site.

"She spent a lot of time and effort on making her space and her business environmentally responsible," he said.

MacXprts has hooked up with local firm File 13 to handle recycling of electronic equipment and the store is focused on selling and using products that are environmentally responsible, Neese said.

"Most people think of technology as being just the opposite of environmentally responsible and we're trying to see how far we can take it in making this business as green as possible," he said.

Jeff Richgels  —  10/17/2008 2:12 pm