A new Hobby Lobby is opening in Oakleaf Plantation on Friday. The over 44,000-square-foot craft store occupies what was previously AC Moore, OfficeMax and Lifeway.
The new store’s creation was projected to cost $18.9 million, the Florida-Times Union reported. The store sits beside a Super Target in the Oakleaf Town Center.
So far, nine Hobby Lobbies have opened this year, according to the Hobby Lobby Newsroom. The chain craft and home decor store has over 900 locations nationwide.
Hobby Lobby faced multiple controversies over the years, including claims of anti-semitism, a Supreme Court case favoring Hobby Lobby’s right to withhold contraception from its insurance coverage and being found guilty of smuggling historical artifacts from Iraq, according to Business Insider.
In the Facebook group, Whats coming to the Oakleaf Plantation area?, a post announcing the new retail location had over 1,000 comments, with some North Florida residents showing excitement over the new Oakleaf store, and others criticizing the chain.
“Target and Hobby Lobby? I'm officially moving to Oak Leaf,” Bonnie Terry wrote.
“They are nothing but a homophobic enterprise that pretends to be Christian but is anything but!” commented Shelley Hayes.
“I wonder if they've smuggled any illegal artifacts lately,” April Mitchell replied to the post.
The store is set to open Friday, June 2 with regular hours from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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