Sunday, February 10, 2019

[OPENING ALERT] Hobby Lobby to Open First ITP Location

After months of rumors, ToNeTo Atlanta has now confirmed that a new Hobby Lobby store is coming to Akers Mill Square in Cobb County, not far from Cumberland Mall.  The new store will open in place of the former Toys R Us/Babies R Us store which previously helped anchor the center until their 2017 closure in the wake of the retailer's chapter 11 bankruptcy and eventual liquidation.

The new, approximately 60,000 square foot Hobby Lobby store will mark the arts & crafts retailer's first foray inside the perimeter (ITP).  The Oklahoma City-based retailer operates about a dozen stores in the greater metro Atlanta area, but most are in the outer suburbs including locations in Austell, Duluth, Lawrenceville (2), Stone Mountain, Dunwoody, Roswell, Kennesaw and Conyers, among others.  Overall, the chain operates more than 800 stores nationwide. 

One of the chain's newest stores in metro Atlanta opened in May 2017 at the new Tucker Meridian shopping center along LaVista Road in Tucker, just outside the perimeter (OTP).

Hobby Lobby is known to be a fan of taking over former Walmart stores, as in the case of their store on the East-West Connector in Austell, and was the case on Buford Drive in Buford, before they relocated last year to a former American Signature Furniture store on Woodward Crossing Boulevard across from the Mall of Georgia.

ToNeTo Atlanta spoke with a number of Atlanta area real estate professionals who seemed surprised that Akers Mill Square owner Olshan Properties would lease to Hobby Lobby, given the retailer's traditionally inexpensive leases.  Olshan's decision to lease to Hobby Lobby is an indication of the difficulty some landlords are having re-leasing larger spaces left vacant by recent retail bankruptcies such as Toys R Us.  

Hobby Lobby is the second anchor replacement at Akers Mill Square in recent months.  Total Wine & More opened this past November in a portion of the former Sports Authority on the opposite end of the center. 

ToNeTo Atlanta reported this past August that Nordstrom Rack was expected to open in the current OfficeMax space with the office supply store expected to relocate to the former Golfsmith space.  The deal to bring Nordstrom Rack to the center is reportedly "on hold," and OfficeMax has reportedly inked a deal to remain in their space for at least another year.  

Sources say that the new Hobby Lobby is slated to open April 15.  

Are you excited for the addition of Hobby Lobby to Akers Mill Square?  What restaurant would you like to see open in place of the former Pollo Tropical at Akers Mill Square?  If Nordstrom Rack does not open at Akers Mill Square, what would you like to see open in the former Golfsmith? 

Please share your thoughts below

2 comments:

Unknown said...

ITP barely.

Unknown said...

I agree that its not exactly ITP but heck yeah! Love Hobby Lobby and we can use one right there so great. Who doesn't love a Hobby Lobby?!?

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