Bakersfield’s brand new Apple store has officially opened and already it’s proving to be a hit with customers.
Along with the iPhone 5 hitting shelves Friday, hundreds of Apple fans have been flocking to the Valley Plaza Mall.
Mall officials say when the Apple store opened at 8 a.m., more than 270 people were in line. Five minutes after that, officials say that number jumped to more than 400.
A group of about 25 customers lined up outside the mall Thursday night, with the first customer in line at 9 p.m.
While most couldn’t wait to get their hands on the iPhone 5, others waited simply to check out the store.
And most people say the wait was well worth it.
"I think they really did it well. Very exciting. The way they did it. I've never seen a grand opening before of an Apple store or any store for that matter really so this one takes the cake,” said Scott Griswold, the Apple store’s first customer.
Aaron Gomez, got an iPhone 5. "It's amazing. It feels a lot different than I thought it would be. A lot lighter, a lot thinner. I've had the old one so I was due for a new one and it looks really nice."
Before the iPhone 5 went on sale, it already shattered previous pre-sale records set by the iPhone 4S.
More than two million were pre-ordered in the first 24 hours, breaking the previous one million record.
And according to many critics, the iPhone 5 seems to be living up to most of it’s hype.
Also Friday morning, everyone who visited the store received a coveted Apple store t-shirt that’s proven to be a popular collector’s item at Apple store openings.
