Hobby Lobby set to open next week

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The grand opening ribbon cutting of the new Hobby Lobby store in Grand Central Place is scheduled for this coming Monday at 9 a.m.

February 22, 2012

By CHRIS HARRIS, CJ Staff Writer Commonwealth Journal The Commonwealth Journal Wed Feb 22, 2012, 07:00 AM EST

Somerset —

Every new store in Somerset is a welcome sight for the local economy and savvy shoppers alike.

Time to get ready for something new.

Hobby Lobby, the popular crafts and home decor retailer, is set to have its grand opening by the beginning of next week.

Monday, February 27 is the date of the 9 a.m. ribbon cutting ceremony held to mark Hobby Lobby’s opening in Somerset. The store is located in the Grand Central Place shopping center, next to Dunham’s Sporting Goods.

Of course, you may be in luck even before then. A conversation Tuesday with Jim Kemper, leasing agent for Grand Central with NAI Isaac Commercial Properties, pointed a reporter in the direction of the Hobby Lobby website (www.hobbylobby.com), which showed under the heading “Store News” a “planned opening day” of Feb. 24 — this Friday.

“We anticipate them opening their doors prior to the end of the month,” said Kemper, who helps oversee the various properties available in the Grand Central shopping center. “Hobby Lobby will be open next week.”

Plans have been for the store hire between 30 to 50 local employees as cashiers, stockers, custom picture framers, office managers, floral designers, and department heads.

The store will fill most of the southern-most end of the former WalMart building, next to Dunham’s Sporting Goods’ current location, occupying approximately 55,000 square feet of space.

Founded in 1972, Hobby Lobby is rapidly growing throughout the country with 490 stores operating in 40 states. No longer considered just an arts and crafts store, Hobby Lobby’s merchandise ranges from crafts, hobbies, picture framing, jewelry making, fashion fabrics, floral, cards and party, baskets, wearable art, home accents, and holiday supplies.

Another popular national retailer, T.J. Maxx, is also set to move into Grand Central, though its customers will have to wait just a bit longer. Work is currently being done to prepare the apparel and home decor retailer to open in a few months’ time.

“They have not pinned down an opening date,” said Kemper, “but we anticipate them opening later this spring.”

Those are the big names, Hobby Lobby and T.J. Maxx, that have brought a bit of a renaissance to Grand Central, which used to be perhaps Somerset’s key commercial hub when it housed Walmart.

With additions like Durham’s Sports, Avante Garde Aesthetic Centers, Petsense and Tuesday Morning in the last few years, however, Grand Central is getting a definite boost as of late. According to Kemper, it’s one that other businesses are looking at closely.

“We’re actually in negotiations with several smaller shop tenants we’re excited about,” said Kemper. “These guys are excited because we were able to land (stores like) Dunham’s and Hobby Lobby.”

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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