Hundreds line up for Hobby Lobby grand opening in Fresno

With cheers and a prayer, Hobby Lobby opened its doors to hundreds of people waiting in line Monday morning.

Fans of the craft and home decor store have eagerly awaited the new store at 6565 N. Blackstone Ave., halfway between Herndon and Sierra avenues.

The first customer got in line at 7:15 a.m. for the 9 a.m. opening.

“I’m just excited about Hobby Lobby being in Fresno,” said Ellen Hayes of Raymond. “They have great crafts, paint colors you can’t find at Michaels or Jo-Anns.”

Technically, the store opened Friday with a “soft opening” – an early opening that usually isn’t promoted much so the store can work out the kinks before the crowds come.

But by Saturday, Hobby Lobby fans knew it was open.

“It was crazy,” store manager Bob Love said of Saturday. “The turnout is just amazing.”

Hobby Lobby has passionate followers who were eager to explain what all the fuss is about and why they’ve been driving to Visalia, Hanford or Merced to shop at the stores there.

The Fresno Hobby Lobby, at 53,000 square feet, is nearly three times the size of a Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores and Michaels.

If you want to see it all, it takes about two hours to get through it, Love said. The store has 10 aisles dedicated to Christmas merchandise already and four aisles of fall merchandise.

This story was originally published August 8, 2016 at 10:29 AM with the headline "Hundreds line up for Hobby Lobby grand opening in Fresno."