Hobby Lobby transformation nears completion, opening

By Douglas Sams
doug.sams@gwinnettdailypost.com

Gwinnett Daily Post/Craig Moore
Hobby Lobby, which is finishing renovations to this former Winn Dixie at U.S. Highway 78 and Wisteria Drive, plans a grand opening July 5.

SNELLVILLE  — Hobby Lobby is nearly finished transforming an old, vacant Winn Dixie store in the Wisteria Village shopping center.
The Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts chain plans a grand opening of its new 55,000-square-foot store on July 5, management said. The Snellville store is the fourth Hobby Lobby in Gwinnett and the 16th in Georgia.
Former Snellville Mayor Brett Harrell, now executive director of the county’s only Community Improvement District, said the Winn Dixie had been empty for the past few years.  The grocery store also was one of four vacant buildings in Snellville that the city and the district have focused on for revitalization, he said.
A former Kroger has been razed to become the new City Hall. Target also is home for two tenants, one a baseball academy and the other a business that helps remove household mold.
A Snellville Wal-Mart remains empty, Harrell said.
In recent years, Hobby Lobby also has opened in Lawrenceville, Buford and Duluth. The 22-year-old company has expanded to 331 stores, with projected sales of $1.42 billion in 2004 and 13,500 employees company-wide. 
With stores in 27 states, Hobby Lobby offers items for crafts, hobbies, picture framing and  jewelry making, along with fashion fabrics, floral, cards and party merchandise.