Expand Your Imagination at Hobby Lobby.

Should not have entered Hobby Lobby. It's huge. And I purchased a textured sketchbook. There goes my weekly budgeting. The video is a little long, because there is so much...stuff. It's enormous on the inside. Isles upon isles, of everything you need for crafts, hobbies, and art. Everything for every season, available for you, today.
The Rome, New York location is in the former JC Penny store, on Erie Boulevard, in the shopping plaza of overpriced Grand Union grocery & Marshalls store.
Hobby Lobby, stores have a volume of over $5 billion. That's a-lot of products. And more than 1,000 stores in forty-eight states. Founded in 1972, it employs 40,000 people, nationwide. The retail store chain, concentrates on traditional(Grass Roots) Conservative values, which is evident walking into the store, and has strong Christian beliefs. Hey folks! Not all artists, are liberal, as media, makes you believe and colleges insultingly influence artists. Domino's Pizza and Lowe's Home Improvement, are also Christian companies. The headquarters of the company are in Oklahoma(very Grass Roots), and was founded by David Green, American billionaire, and funded the Museum of the Bible, in Washington D.C. Son, Steve Green, is the current corporate president.
I don't know how this retail store, will affect the art supply small businesses, but before going to Hobby Lobby, do the right thing, and check-out the small business art & craft stores. For me, it's about that personal customer interaction. Hobby Lobby, has none of that. They only deal with you at the register. I want a business that actually knows arts & crafts, such as the Copper Easel, next to the Capitol Theater.

[@RandomYouTuber52602]

Formerly a JCPenney and a Boston Store if you ever heard of that. I was here the first day it opened.

[@Accu53Mation]

Boston Store. Interesting history. had to research it. Oddly the majority of closed, for sale business properties in Rome, New York(and everywhere else), that have been vacant for too long, receive tax dollars, for revitalizing. Many are too pricey or the owners charge too-darn-much for lease/rent, in such a small city. Some move-out, stating they'll relocate in the city, and nothing happens. Few customers, high cost, and a oblivious chamber-of-commerce, is not a good recipe. Yet, it's city council that too often says "No," to many companies and businesses. Copper City, was to get a very lucrative meat-packing company. Lots-of-jobs. Good pay. Benefits. Longevity. Nope. Too many Snowflakes, complained of future truck traffic and water usage. Water! This coming from the same residents that water their lawns and fill their swimming pools, daily. In fact. The most important thing to them is how their lawn appears. Messed-up priorities. Now Rome, as the rest of Oneida County, is concentrating only on high-tech. And those voters, not wired for high-tech employment, continue with minimum wage, and social services. Reason enough, why many, are moving South & West, out of the state. As for motels/hotels and rundown apartments: loaded with illegal immigrants, felons, and migrants. Ya can thank New York's governor, and both U.S. senators, for that mess.

[@RandomYouTuber52602]

@@Accu53MationIf you also ever heard, There was a Boston Store in Utica as well. When the Boston Store opened here, there was a Grand Way next door until it became Ames (which likely closed in the late 90s), and next door used to be a Zayre until 1990 when it became a P&C and closed around 2003, when next door Tops opened. It converted to P&C in 2006 and back to Tops in 2010 before it finally became the present Grand Union in 2021. The P&C was eventually demolished in 2006 and rebuilt as Marshall's and Rue21, which relocated to part of the former Staples in 2018, and now a Spectrum Store. And i also know to the left of Hobby Lobby where a Dialysis Center is, It used to be a Carl's Pharmacy/Eckerd/Rite Aid. I even filmed the place about a month or two before it was converting to the Dialysis Center. and across from that was a bunch of small businesses including but not limited to: Big Picture Video, 9.99 Stock Room, Caspers, A Jewelry Store, Ben Franklin Arts, and possibly more. It was also next to the bridge that was over Rome's Highway, before it was demolished around 1999 with the small plaza and became a Staples, Dollar Tree, and Domino's in 2000. Staples closed in 2014 for underperforming issues, and became Shoe Depot, Rue21, and Pet Supplies Plus in 2018. Rue21 will be closing this year due to the announcement all 540 Rue21 stores are closing. and in the plaza as well, there was a Ponderosa Steakhouse which opened before 1977 and closed in 2003, before being demolished for KFC in 2006. Just a little history about the freedom plaza. I agree that the governors are doing bad stuff and they should revitalize the city and make it less of a bad place to go to.