Hobby Lobby set to open in early 2005

The store's policy is to be closed Sundays.
BOARDMAN -- The former Ames department store on Boardman-Canfield Road will soon be the home of a new arts and crafts retail store.
The Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby Creative Center will open early next year. No specific date has been announced.
The Hobby Lobby in Boardman will occupy 50,000 square feet and will be the 17th store to open in Ohio, employing some 50 to 55 area residents.
Favorable demographics
"Youngstown was chosen for this location due to favorable demographics and a quality location in a high traffic area with easy accessibility," according to Bill Hane, vice president of advertising.
He said that customers can expect a new facade on the building, lighting improvements and a "very clean" store.
Hane said that Hobby Lobby is more than just an arts and crafts store, it's a destination place where people like to browse. He said that the stores offer both do-it-yourself as well as take-it-home items. Each store stocks more than 60,000 items.
Custom framing
He added that the store will also have an extensive custom framing department. It also carries one of the largest supplies of fabrics not only for the needs of the traditional sewer, but will also offer quality, home decorating fabrics that have been designed especially for Hobby Lobby.
One experience that Mahoning Valley consumers won't have with the new store is Sunday shopping. The store will be closed on Sundays.
Hane said that by not opening on Sundays, it's estimated that out of 150 stores, Hobby Lobby loses as much as $100 million dollars a year. But he said people have not complained about the business policy and "the response has been overwhelmingly positive."
Hane said Hobby Lobby operates 335 stores in 27 states. He noted that the company will usually open stores only within a 1,000 mile radius of the corporate headquarters in Oklahoma City.
The future
Hane said the company plans to open 25 new stores in 2005 and expand or relocate 10 of its stores to larger facilities.
Hobby Lobby, which was established in August of 1972, with one store in Oklahoma City, has become the country's most complete arts and crafts retail operation.
Among the other companies affiliated with Hobby Lobby are: Crafts, Etc!, Greco Frame and Supply as well as Hemispheres, an upscale furniture, home decor and garden accessories store and Mardel, a Christian bookstore.