My usual hobbyshop, F&M Hobbies, underwent a change of hands last year when its founder, Fred Moglia, retired and sold the business to its current owner, Jim Dobis. Today is the first anniversary of that transition.
As I noted in my blog post of March 10, 2010 (at http://bit.ly/a21TXI), I noted my surprise and optimism about the future of a well-regarded local hobbyshop, and I am happy to report that things are still looking good, from what I can tell, based on the two or three visits I've since my March 2010 visit.
Changes were to be expected, and in talking to Jim, the new owner, last March, "significant" changes were not in the immediate future, so the store essentially looks much as it did under Fred's ownership. But there have been some smaller, albeit noticeable, alterations.
The biggest change is external, to one of the display bay windows. The store has two on the front, which hold various models and other merchandise displayed. The one to the left of the entrance no longer functions as a display window. Jim removed those displays and now uses that space to hold a variety of R/C car kits.
Another change is in the store's hours. Under Fred, the store was open Tuesday and Thursday through Sunday, for a total of 35 hours per week, and during the summer was closed on Tuesdays. Jim expanded the hours to 43 per week, an increase of 22.9 percent. He did this by opening on Wednesdays and adding an extra hour to Saturday.
More impressive, I think, is his new opening and closing times. The weekday opening times are still eleven a.m., but the closing times are now different. Depending on the day of the week, he closes at either six or eight. Instead of the old Saturday hours of ten to five, he's open eleven to eight, with Sunday's 11-3 unchanged.
Jim's changing the hours no doubt in response to his customers' requests, which he told me he'd solicit back when I first met him a year ago, and I am pleased he's open longer for his customers' benefit.
Other changes were more subtle, such as items that had been restocked and a new monitor for the computer on the counter. One day when I visited, he was listing items for sale on eBay, to clear out merchandise that wasn't moving at all.
While I still miss Fred, being the character that he was, it is gratifying to see Jim Dobis's apparent success twelve months later. By buying an existing business, Jim was able to maintain the momentum of a long-established hobbyshop and use it to carry him forward.
As I noted in my blog post of March 10, 2010 (at http://bit.ly/a21TXI), I noted my surprise and optimism about the future of a well-regarded local hobbyshop, and I am happy to report that things are still looking good, from what I can tell, based on the two or three visits I've since my March 2010 visit.
Changes were to be expected, and in talking to Jim, the new owner, last March, "significant" changes were not in the immediate future, so the store essentially looks much as it did under Fred's ownership. But there have been some smaller, albeit noticeable, alterations.
The biggest change is external, to one of the display bay windows. The store has two on the front, which hold various models and other merchandise displayed. The one to the left of the entrance no longer functions as a display window. Jim removed those displays and now uses that space to hold a variety of R/C car kits.
Another change is in the store's hours. Under Fred, the store was open Tuesday and Thursday through Sunday, for a total of 35 hours per week, and during the summer was closed on Tuesdays. Jim expanded the hours to 43 per week, an increase of 22.9 percent. He did this by opening on Wednesdays and adding an extra hour to Saturday.
More impressive, I think, is his new opening and closing times. The weekday opening times are still eleven a.m., but the closing times are now different. Depending on the day of the week, he closes at either six or eight. Instead of the old Saturday hours of ten to five, he's open eleven to eight, with Sunday's 11-3 unchanged.
Jim's changing the hours no doubt in response to his customers' requests, which he told me he'd solicit back when I first met him a year ago, and I am pleased he's open longer for his customers' benefit.
Other changes were more subtle, such as items that had been restocked and a new monitor for the computer on the counter. One day when I visited, he was listing items for sale on eBay, to clear out merchandise that wasn't moving at all.
While I still miss Fred, being the character that he was, it is gratifying to see Jim Dobis's apparent success twelve months later. By buying an existing business, Jim was able to maintain the momentum of a long-established hobbyshop and use it to carry him forward.
