Hobby Lobby Moving to Site Vacated by Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond

Hobby Lobby, with more than 1,000 stores around the country, will move to 270 Greenwich Street, also the location of Whole Foods. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib 

Hobby Lobby [1], the giant arts-and-crafts and home decor retailer, will be moving to more than 70,000 square feet at 270 Greenwich Street in Tribeca, occupying the second floor vacated in 2023 by Bed Bath & Beyond and this year by Barnes & Noble. The lease signing, first reported by Crain’s [2], is the company’s first in Manhattan. It opened its only New York City store, in Staten Island, in March. 

Along with Whole Foods, the store space is located at the base of the 35-story 101 Warren Street. “Five blade signs and multiple building signs offer numerous opportunities for high-impact brand visibility” along the more than 200 feet of second-floor frontage, boasts an on-line ad for the space.

Among the company’s “core values,” according to its website, is “honoring the Lord in all we do by operating in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.” Like Chick-fil-A, another faith-based evangelical Christian company, Hobby Lobby stores are closed on Sunday, “allowing associates time for family and for worship.”

Hobby Lobby prevailed in a 2014 Supreme Court case in which the company argued that religious beliefs exempted closely held corporations like theirs from a federal rule mandating health care coverage of contraceptives.

 In 1970, David and Barbara Green started the Oklahoma City-based company in their home, where they made miniature frames. The company, launched with a $600 loan, now operates more than 1,000 stores across 48 states. Forbes estimates the family’s net worth at $14.5 billion.

Hobby Lobby did not respond to a request for comment.