Hobby Lobby Coming To Danbury

The retail arts and crafts juggernaut will move into the 47,555 square feet of space vacated by Christmas Tree Shops. Those shelves have been empty since the discount retailer shuttered all their locations last year, after filing for bankruptcy in May .

Farley Santos, the city's economic development director, confirmed the plan in an email to Patch, but noted Hobby Lobby has not yet applied for any permits with the city, and no opening date has been set.

Hobby Lobby is the world's largest privately-owned arts and crafts retailer with more than 1,000 stores, and it's getting larger. Revenues were up 2.6 percent in 2023, to $7.9 billion. It's 75th on Forbes' list of largest private companies, with 43,000 employees.

Soon, some of those will be Danbury-based.

"One of the Mayor's top priorities is job creation for Danbury residents," Santos said, and cited Boost Bowls, which opened its first Danbury location at Danbury Square. A brew pub and beer garden has plans to move in where former anchor bookseller Barnes & Noble vacated . "We want to keep showcasing how Danbury is the premier city to open a thriving business!"

The Danbury store will be joining the only other four Connecticut Hobby Lobbies, in Bristol, East Haven, Manchester and Milford.