Historic Downtown eNews  |  Archive

CityMac To Close June 1, Building Raises Interest of Other Prospects

May 27, 2013

Just days shy of its one-year anniversary Apple retailer, CityMac, will log out of its downtown Bristol, Virginia location on June 1.

Citing low sales volume and a historically scant profit margin on technology, owner Jim Neu said closing CityMac is one of the toughest business decisions he’s been forced to make in his lengthy history as an entrepreneur.

“I am disappointed, because Bristol has been such a welcoming city, and one we were delighted to immerse ourselves in,” he said. “But ultimately, we had to take a hard look at our operations and make the best decision we could, given the circumstances,” he added.

“I wholeheartedly believe in Bristol’s vision, and essentially it all gets down to hard business decisions and timing,” Neu said.

According to Bristol, Virginia City Manager, Dewey Cashwell, the City will suffer no financial loss on the building when City Mac closes.

“Jim has been gracious to meet with a number of representatives from the City on this issue, as well as complete exit interviews with the members of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) so that we may all learn from this process, and take away key pieces of information that will serve to help us further refine our business recruitment process in the future,” Cashwell said.

Cashwell added that Neu worked hard to develop and grow his business in a new market. “I hope we hope we can work together again in the future, and we certainly wish Jim and his family well in all of their endeavors,” he added.

Bristol, Virginia Assistant City Manager, Andrew Trivette, explained that the City Mac building now reverts to the City, yet in substantially better shape due to renovations made by Neu.

“We will inherit a building that is vastly improved in a variety of structural and esthetic ways,” he said. “City Council and EDC did a tremendous job of protecting the interests of the city, through a variety of requirements concerning performance, and, as a result, the city is already receiving significant interest in the building from other potential prospects,” Trivette added.

City Mac, and companion expresso café, CityMug, opened on June 9, 2012, with a staff of 15 full-time technicians, sales people and customer-service staffers.

Neu will be selling a variety of store fixtures and kitchen equipment from the café. Anyone interested in the items should contact Neu directly via email: jim@citymac.com