Tornado recovery continues as rebuilding starts on new Hobby Lobby

Paul Welitzkin, The Petoskey News-Review
·2 min read

GAYLORD — In a sign of progress since the tornado, work will start soon on the rebuilding of the Hobby Lobby and adjacent stores that were wiped out by the May 20, 2022 storm.

The EF-3 tornado, with winds as high as 150 miles per hour, tore the roof off of the Hobby Lobby building. The neighboring Jimmy John's and Maurices were also destroyed.

Here is the cleared site for the new Hobby Lobby store in the Pine Ridge Square development at 1401 W. Main St. in Gaylord. The new building will replace the one destroyed in last year's tornado.
Here is the cleared site for the new Hobby Lobby store in the Pine Ridge Square development at 1401 W. Main St. in Gaylord. The new building will replace the one destroyed in last year's tornado.

Michelle Shafir, a senior retail leasing specialist with Robert. B. Aikens & Associates LLC, a commercial real estate firm in suburban Detroit, said Hobby Lobby is beginning the rebuilding process.

"They are rebuilding their store (and) it's going to be a slightly larger footprint — 50,000 square feet (more) than the original store. Construction has begun (and) the intention is to have the store open by the holidays," said Shafir.

Shafir said the new Gaylord store "will be the latest prototype/design" for the arts-and-crafts retail chain which has over 900 locations nationwide.

More: Rebuilding, healing continue a year after devastating tornado in Gaylord

What about Jimmy John's and Maurices?

"I was able to relocate Maurices within the center to a larger store (at) 6,000 square feet. (It's) a remodel of the space that will happen this year. We will be adding an additional 9,000 square feet of space adjacent to (Hobby Lobby) fronting M-32/Main Street," added Shafir.

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Another business near the Hobby Lobby location on M-32, Little Caesars Pizza recently reopened after its building was demolished in the tornado.

"Little Caesars is open and has been doing a huge amount of business. Businesses are reopening and the community as a whole is moving forward. The businesses that had to completely rebuild are now having issues with restaffing after being closed for a year," noted Paul Gunderson, executive director of the Gaylord Area Chamber of Commerce.

— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Tornado recovery continues as rebuilding starts on new Hobby Lobby