The City of Elk City is pleased to officially confirm that HOBBY LOBBY will open a large new store in Elk City.
Bob Miller, Communications Coordinator for Hobby Lobby, today stated, “We are excited that Hobby Lobby is coming to Elk City. Hobby Lobby is constantly looking for new locations to better serve our customers. Elk City feels like a great fit with its western hospitality and the creativity that comes from its pioneering heritage. We look forward to being a part of the community while providing super selection and super savings to the people of western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle.”
The Elk City store is expected to hire 35 to 50 employees with full-time employees earning $15.35 an hour, and part-time employees earning $10.23 an hour. With processes like digital recruiting, efficiency can be expected.
Hobby Lobby has more than 700 stores across the nation. Each store offers 75,000 crafting and home decor products including floral, fabric, needle art, custom framing, baskets, home accents, wearable art, arts and craft, jewelry making, scrapbooking and paper crafting supplies. Store hours will be Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. All Hobby Lobby stores are closed on Sunday.
Mayor Bill Helton and City Commissioners Allen Robinson, Jeff Jackson, Larry Muck, and Rick Shelton approved the economic development project’s preliminary plans and utilizing future funds from the existing Tax Increment Finance District (TIF) to construct an addition to Regional Drive, extend utilities, and drainage to the Hobby Lobby site.
City Manager Lee Litterell noted that the new store will be located just north of the Walmart Super Center in Elk City in the new Marketplace Addition, recently approved by the Elk City Planning and Zoning Board and which is within the Elk City Tax Increment Finance District (TIF). Hobby Lobby’s plans call for a 54,940 square foot main building and an additional 15,000 square foot second building which will house a second business to be named later.
“Hobby Lobby is one of the best retailers in America. The Green family is highly respected for the thoughtful way they manage their extensive business. The addition of this national company to our business community is a real plus for Elk City, our citizens and all of western Oklahoma. This happened in large measure to the foresight, vision, confidence and commitment of our city leaders and business community to work together to bring such a notable business to Elk City. Hobby Lobby’s decision to open a store in Elk City at this time speaks volumes to their confidence in the future of our City as the hub of commerce for western Oklahoma. Great things happen when everyone in our community is a positive unselfish contributor. We hope to continue building our city on this momentum,” commented Joe D. Hall, local business leader and project developer.
Economic Development Director Jim Mason noted that this project, which has been a year in process, could not have happened without the leadership and involvement of Joe D. Hall, developer. Site work will begin immediately and the new store anticipates completion in approximately nine months.
The City of Elk City has partnered with The Retail Coach for the past year and anticipates that additional retail and restaurant clients will announce Elk City locations in “The Shopping Center of Western Oklahoma” in the near future. The City of Elk City will continue to make retailer recruitment and retention one of our main economic development focuses.