I still remember my first visit to an Apple Store. 

Several years later, I would live close enough to walk to one, but back then there were barely 15 of them, so as soon as one opened within rational driving distance, I made sure to get there. Roughly 65 miles away, I set my sights on Woodcliff Lake, N.J., where Apple had targeted a new shopping center for its first store in the tri-state area.

Like most twentysomething geeks, I had certain expectations about electronics stores in 2001. My main experiences had been with so-called superstores, mainly MicroCenter and CompUSA, where I was equally badgered and ignored, couldn't find anything released in the past three months, and wasn't trusted to test-drive anything; the machine was either crippled by a demo mode or wasn't hooked up properly, if at all.

The Apple Store was different. Even before I stepped foot in one, I was no stranger to the design. The glass staircases and recessed LCD screens would come later, but even in 2001, each space still had a unique charm and quality, especially the two other outdoor buildings. In pictures, they didn't seem like stores at all, more like mini shrines dedicated to the Mac.

When my father and I arrived at the very-much-under-construction Tice's Corner shopping center about 45 minutes before the doors opened, there was already a line. A pair of white, practically glowing Apple logos flanked the entranceway. Two giant windows showcased the new iBook and the even newer iPod, and through the glass doors, I could see straight down the center of the store to the theater.

What struck me most about the exterior of the building was how inviting it was. With a subtle elegance, it beckoned shoppers inside. It had nothing to hide — unlike the forbidden seduction of an Abercrombie & Fitch facade — yet there was a sense that what was inside needed to be seen. Even if I hadn't driven for over an hour specifically to see it, I definitely would have stopped by.

Those first designs, certainly compared to the extravagant landmark structures in New York City and Los Angeles, were all fairly similar. The other "Main Street" structures at the time (in Palo Alto, Calif., and Germantown, Tenn.) were nearly identical, designed far away from where they stood. 

That's not the case anymore.

"It's about getting out into the street, feeling what the locals feel, and then trying to unlock what they missed themselves," said Bob Bridger, vice president of Apple retail development, in an internal video published by Washington Square films, discovered by 9to5 Mac and quickly taken down at Apple's request.

"If you can tailor a store uniquely to its setting, it can actually improve communities," echoed Ron Johnson, then-senior vice president of retail.

In the chilly moments before the store opened, Apple employees were letting the people in line play with Apple's newest creation, the iPod — which wouldn't go on sale for another week. As we all clamored to listen to half a song and spin the scroll wheel, none of it felt like a sales push, and to this day, spending time at an Apple Store doesn't feel like shopping.

In a way, Apple treats its stores like its products, never satisfied with last year's models, always pushing to make things sleeker, more striking.

"Most retailers view their space as the square footage they rent. We view it as the environment we inhabit," Johnson said. "Our primary objective is to create a place that people will love."

Much like the iPhone and iPad, Apple hasn't made many wholesale changes to its store designs. The theaters are gone and the software shelves have been replaced with iPhone accessories, but at their core, the Apple Stores aren't all that different than the one I planned a Saturday around 11 years ago.

Like many others who waited in line with me, I didn't buy anything that day. Nor did I buy anything when I stopped by my local Apple Store a few weeks ago to try out the iPad mini. (And there may have been one or two other times in between.)

And that's the inherent difference between Apple and those other tech shops I used to visit. Apple builds its stores for its customers, not its products.

It just happens to sell a whole bunch of stuff there.

Find Michael Simon on Twitter or App.net @morlium.