On my way into work this morning I had to stop by one of my favorite stores to pic up a couple of NICs for work, Fry's Electronics. I've written about Fry's in the past, and I talked about their elaborate themes in their newer stores. For instance, the store near my house in San Marcos California is all decked out in an Atlantis theme. The San Diego location is a bit older, so it never had a theme applied to it. It was just a boring electronics store. Until now.
So I walked in and saw their sign saying, "Please excuse the construction during the renovation of the store." Inside the store still hadn't had any theme applied to it, but it was beginning to look a lot more like the San Marcos store with lower shelves, and a little more open. Crews were in their moving shelving around, and building things. I was getting pretty excited.
After I picked up a couple of elcheapo TP-Link TG-3468 NICs i headed for the counter, and for some answers. I was checked out by a guy named Jose Villarosa, and I asked him what the theme of the store is going to be. He said they are going for a Naval/Military theme! I think that is so awesome because San Diego is a military town!
Wikipedia says this about Fry's themes:
Following the lead of the Fremont store, new Fry's locations continued the use of elaborate themes and various designed props until well into the late 1990s. For example, the Burbank store which opened in 1995 is themed upon 1950s and 1970s science fiction movies, and features huge statues of popular characters such as the robot Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still and Darth Vader from the Star Wars movie series. In addition, giant ants (from the movie Them!) hang from the ceiling, and the bodies of 1957 Chevys and Buicks serve as dining tables in the cafe. A flying saucer protrudes above the entrance. With construction, land purchase and theming, the Burbank store cost $15 million to open.
I forgot to ask when construction is supposed to be completed, so I can't tell you that. Just don't be surprised the next time you go there if you see an aircraft carrier's bow bursting through the walls!
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