Largest hobby and toy store in MO being built in SGF

SPRINGFIELD, MO- A store that caters to kids of all ages is making a big move and expansion on the city's south side.

In 2018, OzarksFirst's Mike Landis spoke with local HobbyTown owner Tim Weyers after his store's largest competitor, Toys R' Us, went out of business. Weyers said he believed there was still a bright future for toys and hobbies- despite the trend of kids turning to video games and phone apps, and ditching things like miniature model planes, trains, and automobiles.

Since then, HobbyTown has continued to stay busy at its longtime location on East Battlefield Rd.

Weyers explained, "The pandemic was good to us. Parents found out that they were kind of tired of their kids just looking at the screens of any sort." He added, "I thought we would lose a lot of that after things opened back up and we haven't. And it has grown for us."

Due to the growth, HobbyTown is moving into a new, much bigger home.

"Well, this is the first project I'm doing for myself, and so it's exciting," Weyers said.

The retailer is moving from its current location to a massive new space in the old Kmart (formerly Venure) building on South Glenstone at Battlefield Road. Right now, contractors are building out the space for the new toy and hobby center, which Weyers says will now be the largest of its kind in Missouri. At 13,000 square feet, it'll be quite a bit larger than its current floor space of around 4,000 square feet.

In addition to a lot of retail space, Weyers explained the new store will have a track area for RC vehicles, as well as ceilings tall enough to fly model planes and helicopters.

In a bit of a coincidence, HobbyTown's new neighbor in the center will be Hobby Lobby. Despite a similar name, the two companies have no corporate connection. The two also carry mostly different products, with Hobby Lobby focusing more on arts, crafts, and home decor items, and HobbyTown catering to customers seeking scale models, remote-controlled vehicles, games, and educational toys.

"This shopping center at Christmastime...I think we're going to be busy," Weyers said.

HobbyTown says work on the new location will wrap up in a few months. The goal is to have an opening sometime by February.

"To be able to build something that I think is going to be part of Springfield for a long time, I'm proud of that," Weyers said.