When will Hobby Lobby open its Bellingham store?
Hobby Lobby is aiming for an early 2018 opening of its store in the former Meridian Costco building.
Plans were submitted to the city last week to put the arts-and-crafts retailer in the building at 4299 Meridian St. with HomeGoods and Sierra Trading Post.
According to the documents Hobby Lobby will occupy 61,640 square feet of retail space, HomeGoods will take 27,185 square feet and Sierra Trading Post will take 22,782.
A fourth space of 21,551 square feet in the northwest side of the building does not have a listed tenant. The building was vacated by Costco in November, when it moved into its new facility on Bakerview Road.
Bob Miller, a communications coordinator for Hobby Lobby, confirmed the company’s plans, saying he believes Bellingham will be a great fit. Currently there are 14 Hobby Lobby stores in Washington state.
“With the great response those stores have received, we believe Bellingham customers will be pleased with the quality, selection and value we offer in the craft and home decor market,” Miller said in an email.
Miller said Hobby Lobby expects to hire between 35 and 50 people for the store. The average Hobby Lobby store is about 55,000 square feet and each store offers more than 70,000 crafting and home decor products, he said.
Hobby Lobby is based in Oklahoma City and began as Greco, a picture frame company, in 1970 – the company started with a $600 loan to David and Barbara Green, according to the company’s website.
Nationwide it currently has nearly 750 stores and about 32,000 employees, according to its website. The company boasts a 9.2 million square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility in Oklahoma City.
Attempts to reach representatives at HomeGoods and Sierra Trading Post were unsuccessful on Monday. HomeGoods focuses on home decor products, while Sierra Trading Post offers discount prices for outdoor clothes and equipment.
Dave Gallagher: 360-715-2269, @BhamHeraldBiz
This story was originally published April 10, 2017 at 3:25 PM with the headline "When will Hobby Lobby open its Bellingham store?."