It’s the end of the line for a +20-year Kennewick model railroad hobby shop
Parkade Hobbies, the a popular downtown Kennewick destination for model railroaders for more than 20 years, is closing at the end of July.
Owner Bob Jekel is selling inventory and furnishings and closing his business at 23 N. Cascade St.
Jekel said he decided to end his run as a retailer after his recent 82nd birthday.
The hobby shop was itself a hobby, launched after he retired from Hanford in December 1996. He and his wife bought the former Fantasticks gift and fabric shop on Vista Way in 1997.
By then, he already had a small model railroading business at home, catering to the model-building hobby he took up at age 5. He started modeling airplanes and cars as well as trains.
He moved the train business into the gift shop and called it the “Train Station at Fantasticks.” Model railroading eventually overtook the fabric and gift side of the business.
The Jekels moved to downtown Kennewick in 2002, where they rebranded as Parkade Hobbies. The full-service hobby shop moved to Cascade Avenue in 2009.
He said he enjoyed being part of Kennewick’s historic downtown, calling it a great place for small businesses, well maintained and clean.
Once he decided to sell, Jekel attempted to find a buyer for the business. One candidate couldn’t get a bank loan. No one else expressed interest.
He concedes Parkade Hobbies is more a retirement hobby than a viable retail business.
It covered his expenses, including modest month-to-month rent on the space. He didn’t need to be profitable, noting a pension and Social Security pay the bills.
“I don’t need to worry about eating,” he said.
Ideally, another retiree with a passion for railroading would have stepped up.
“Nobody like that showed up,” he said. So he opted to shut down.
Jekel said he has other hobbies he plans to indulge.
He is a member of the Columbia Basin Corvairs, a nonprofit club dedicated to all things related to the Chevrolet Corvair, a couple manufactured between 1960 and 1969. He has a grape colored convertible, which he drives in parades.
He is offering progressively higher discounts as the final day approaches. Jekel intends to continue placing special orders for customers after the store closes.
Until it closes for good alter this month, Parkade Hobbies is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday-Friday, and 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday. a..m-2 p.m.
This story was originally published July 17, 2023 at 12:59 PM.