Two landmark Seattle hobby shops will be shutting their doors this spring, after years of struggling to stay afloat in a flagging economy. American Eagles, family-owned hobby shop once a Mecca for model-making kids and their parents, and North End Train Center, one of the regions largest stores for hobby train building, are working now to sell off their inventory before their expected closing dates in April.
The store just aren’t selling like it used to, American Eagles owner George Edwards says. In a recent story in the Seattle Times, Edwards recalled a time when his store was so popular, it became a target of a group grandmothers who were protesting a nuclear-armed submarine that was scheduled to float into the city for a visit. Why? Because American Eagles stocked model replicas of the sub.
Edwards believes that video games and computers have squeezed him out of business, which his father launched in 1969. Over four decades American Eagles went through several iterations and locations including Lake City, Greenwood and Ballard.
“There was nothing else like this,” Edwards told a times reporter. Both store owners and hobby industry leaders say that today’s kids want immediate satisfaction and so are unwilling to spend the time and effort it takes to build models.
North End Train Center has been in business since 1947. Original owner Bill Sweeney sold out of his home on Linden Avenue. Bob Colley and Jane Peterson purchased the store in 1995 and moved the store to Lake City Way. It is now slashing prices by 5 percent a week until closing April 9. This week all items are 25 percent off. On April 4, mark-downs will hit 50 percent off.
Both American Eagles and North End Train Center are located at 12537 Lake City Way NE in Seattle. To learn more about North End, go to their web site: North End Train Center
