Fast Company:

The year was 1996.

Apple wasn’t doing well, suffering through the awkward years between the Mac and the iPod. Jobs would return officially in 1997, but in the meantime, Apple was contemplating how to make some fast cash by licensing its name. In this gap leading to its renaissance, Apple considered a concept that feels wild, yet, in retrospect, almost inevitable: the Apple Cafe.

Like many of you, I’m old enough to have been around when this idea first came to light in 1996. I’m also old enough to remember thinking, “Well, that’s not going to fly”. But perhaps the germ of this idea came to fruition in today’s Apple retail stores.