By Kaitlin Candelaria
Some may think of hobby shops as child’s play. But that’s simply not true, according to Tricia and Kevin McCain, co-owners of Homewood Toy and Hobby.
The McCains said people from ages 5 to 75 visit their store on a regular basis.
“We have all kinds,” Kevin McCain said. “There’s a lot of creative folks and families obviously with toys and hobbies and everything from engineers and pilots to any other profession and lifestyle.”
Janet and Jeremy Hartmann of The Model Box 2.0 in Hoover echo that sentiment.
“That’s tough because it’s anywhere from young adults with their own new money to men who have just recently retired who want to get into something new,” Janet Hartmann said.
Both shops, which sell almost everything from rockets to Pinewood Derby cars, serve a similar demographic in Homewood and Hoover but have very different roots.
Homewood Toy and Hobby was opened in 1950 by Tricia McCain’s grandparents at a location farther down 18th Street as a lawnmower part and repair shop. It later moved to the current Cahaba Cycles location on 18th Street, and bicycles were added to the inventory. Toys and dolls were introduced by her parents upon the birth of McCain’s sister before becoming the store’s main focus, she said.
Janet and Jeremy started The Model Box in 1988 as newlyweds.
“He would shop at local hobby shops, but they never had what he wanted, and he wanted to open a shop that would carry parts for everything we carried and where people could take it home without having to order anything,” Janet Hartmann said. “It was ours, and it was new. We were so proud of that.”
In the world of digital gadgets and gizmos, running a hobby shop is not without challenges. However, the owners of both stores said they are confident about their abilities to compete with modern technology.
“It really takes care of itself,” Tricia McCain said. “A lot of people do hobbies specifically to get away from that.”
The McCains also sell many modern hobby products in their store, including drones from $29.99 and up to highly sophisticated drones that sell for thousands of dollars.
The Model Box 2.0 also fights fire with fire.
“We stay current because a lot of the things we sell can be operated through your tablet,” Janet Hartmann said. “You can use your digital items to control the device.”
However, technology has challenged the hobby shop industry in more than one way. Hobby pricing can be very competitive online, Tricia McCain said.
“We do match pricing,” she said. “A lot of people have a misconception that brick and mortar stores are more expensive, and we’re not.”
The Hartmanns said they agreed. Their prices range from $10 to $1,000, they said.
Technology isn’t the only challenge The Model Box 2.0 has come up against. Last June, the store was devastated by a fire. After being closed for over 10 months, the Hartmanns are ready to reopen towards the end of April.
“It was tough. It’s still tough,” Janet Hartmann said. “The insurance company estimated four to six weeks and we’d be back in business, and it’s been almost 10 months. You never expect for this to happen to you.”
The couple said they have big things planned for the reopening, including adding 2.0 to the name to signify a fresh start.
The business recently joined the Hoover Chamber of Commerce and will host a ribbon cutting with a cocktail reception for customers who have stuck with them through this transitory phase, the Hartmanns said.
A model plane that Jeremy Hartmann spent almost two years building will be displayed in the front of the store. Although the plane was scorched in the fire, it survived intact and will serve as a reminder of where the shop has been and where it hopes to go in the future.
“We want to be that hometown hobby shop that you think of,” Janet Hartmann said. “If you buy online, good luck if you have problems after you get it. We, on the other hand, are going to help you in any way we can. We’re just tickled to be back.”
