Hobby Lobby moving into vacant Mervyn’s building

After sitting empty for nearly five years, the Mervyn’s building at Cochrane Plaza will soon be occupied by a new tenant.
Hobby Lobby, a nationwide retail chain, will open in the spot later this year, according to city manager Ed Tewes. The arts and crafts store recently gained a city building permit to make improvements to the site, which has about 75,000 square feet of retail space.
Hobby Lobby, whose corporate headquarters are in Oklahoma City, has 456 stores in 39 states.
According to their web site, the store sells a wide variety of arts and crafts, scrapbooking and home decoration supplies, jewelry, fabric, greeting cards and party supplies, picture frames, hobby supplies and floral items.
Hobby Lobby spokespeople contacted at the store’s corporate headquarters declined to confirm the new location, or provide any details about when the new store might open.