The History of Bob’s Hobby & Collector’s Shop

“I got my first train set when I was seven months old,” Bob recalls. “My dad said I asked for it!” He finishes with a smile. This was the beginning of what would later become Michigan’s largest hobby shop.

Robert Taylor, or Bob, was born in Chicago in 1938 but was raised in California for most of his youth. As he got older, his family moved from California to Wisconsin and back then, eventually, they moved to Michigan where he has been since. During this time, however, Bob’s passion for trains never faded.

Bob has always collected trains. He even sold some trains out of his parent’s garage when he was 12. But he also worked as plumber as he got older, which helped support his hobby. Near the end of his 23-year plumbing career, Bob wanted to open a hobby store. So he purchased a small store in 1966 and Bob’s Hobby & Collector’s Shop opened.

This first location for Bob’s Hobby Shop was on 6 West Main Street in Hartford, Michigan. It was a meager 300 square feet! Bob, however, had a hard time filling it at first, but in just three short years, his small business took off. He knew then that he had to buy a second store.

His opened his next location, in 1969, at 7 West Main Street, also in Hartford. It was just across the street from his first store and it wasn’t much bigger than his last store measuring 20 feet by 35 feet. But soon enough, Bob had it filled. He kept both buildings open and both stores were doing well enough for him to a commercial slot racing track.

Just down the road, the track operated out of the basement at 22 West Main Street. Called B&E Raceway, it opened to the public in 1970. The track was an impressive eight lanes wide and measured approximately 117 feet in length! Soon all three buildings were doing well, but keeping them open was hard work. Bob now needed to consolidate all of them.

A short time later, Bob would purchase two side-by-side buildings located at 8 and 10 West Main Street. He housed his, ever successful, slot racing track at 10 West Main. His hobby shop and slot racing track would do well for many years, but in 1983, Bob decided to close shop and he sold his track to his uncle.

Bob operated his hobby shop out of his home by strictly doing mail order only. It proved be a great decision and he prospered with it. But the little enterprise out-grew his home and he soon realized that he needed to open a new store. And in 1985 he started to look for the right size building.

In 1986, Bob found the ideal retail location nestled in scenic, downtown Watervliet, Michigan at 340 North Main Street. His new storefront was about four miles from his original store in Hartford and it was much larger too. Measuring about 2,500 square feet, it definitely had plenty of storage space.

It wasn’t long, however, when Bob’s got too big for this space. So 1991, he purchased a second building at 358 North Main Street. Only two doors down from the other store! It was also approximately 2,500 square feet, giving him a total of 5,000 square feet. Bob, at first, intended this building to be used for special sales and for Christmas. But during Christmas of 1991 he decided to have both buildings open. The proved to be so successful, that Bob settled on keeping both buildings open year round.

In 1992, the old Bolin Furniture store, which coincidently uses to be a Ritz Theater when first built, came up for sale. It’s location, just down the road, was at 115 North Main Street, right by Watervliet‘s only stoplight. This place was huge with four floors of merchandise, and a whopping 12,000 square feet of space. This was the opportunity that Bob needed in order to consolidate his business so he purchased the building.

Bob later acquired the attached building, which at the time, was occupied by a video rental store until 1996. When they moved, just two doors away, Bob connected both buildings, giving him an additional 3,000 square feet. His business now has five floors of new and used merchandise and plenty of much needed space.

Now in its 42^nd year in business, Bob’s Hobby & Collector’s Shop has grown exponentially. Offering hobbies from remote control airplanes and model kits of every type, to model trains of all sizes! He also sells material to build layouts, Pinewood derby, and much more.

You can also check out Bob’s Hobby Shop online at www.bobshobbyshop.com. There you can find out about any upcoming sales or events, like the AS-IS Sale or auctions. So come in, reminisce a little while listening to old time music, and maybe go home with something that you remember having as a kid!