I have heard, and personally noted that Hancock\'s Fabrics are closing and selling off most of their locations around the country.
Will they actually be re-opening a new store here in West Seattle at the site of their former store, once the West Seattle Whole Foods is completed?
Yes, they own the property.
They and Whole Foods are the only retail tenants slated for the site.
Their story will have an entry at 40th/Alaska on the southwest corner of the building, with a small amount of surface parking to be accessed from an alley on the north side (besides the underground parking for the entire development) - TR
I was surprised to hear at the Whole Foods groundbreaking that Hancock owned the property, and was reason the project had been held up
then, unless I was hearing wrong, pretty sure Bluestar said at the design review the other night that they bought the property from Hancock
either way they seem to be a significant player in the project
does anyone know of any comparable/alternative fabric stores in this area to buy sewing stuff while they are building the new store
Hancock\'s has been downsizing for several years as they find it difficult to compete with the likes of JoAnn\'s Fabrics. Throughout the 60\'s and mostly the 70\'s, Hancock\'s always purchased their stores, never rented. As such, they have developed a substantial inventory of choice, inner city sites nationwide. It appears that Hancock\'s is cashing in on their longterm investments, including to holding onto the land where Whole Foods will be built. I doubt seriously if Hancock\'s will reopen at Fauntleroy Place. The \"anticipated\" store area is enormous and will be far more valuable to Hancock\'s as subleased retail property. They could have 5 independent small retail operations in that space \"reserved\" for Hancocks. I\'m certain that Whole Foods will be paying a hefty rent to Hancock\'s for the 20 years they have committed to.
Hancock\'s has the advantage of being the only fabric store in West Seattle. The closest JoAnn\'s are in Ballard, Tukwila, and Renton.
A LONG time ago, Hancock\'s website showed them filing for bankruptcy. I know that there are different kinds of bankruptcy and that it\'s probably possible for them to come out the other side, but I\'ve always wondered about it, especially given the prospect of being closed for two-ish years. Maybe it is the property ownership that\'s saving them.
I remember hearing about a Hancock\'s bankruptcy, too, but that was a loooong time ago. They certainly don\'t have the presence around here they used to, but they never seemed to be lacking business for the WS shop (or the Lynnwood shop, which I\'ve been to a few times)...despite pretty inconsistent service.
The next nearest fabric store to WS is probably Pacific Fabric and Crafts outlet, on 4th Ave S between Lander and Holgate. The prices don\'t necessarily seem like \"outlet\" prices to me, but they have pretty good stock.
I sure hope Hancock\'s reopens here. Nobody else in the business has pattern sales like they do! OTOH, our household seems to be saving a lot of money now that I have to leave WS to indulge my needlecrafts addiction...
King County Records show Hancock selling to Fauntleroy Place LLC a year ago. However, it could well be that either they have a share of \"FP LLC\" or there are some conditions that gave them a say. I\'ll see if our BlueStar pals have any particular explanation.
Hancock\'s site has a news release that says they just came out of bankruptcy the first week of August. FWIW anyway.
rudy
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There is a great little quilting/fabric shop on Vashon. I think it is called Island Quilter - there are signs pointing you there at the main intersection in the town of Vashon. I stumbled accross it when we went over for their Strawberry Festival this summer. I\'ll see if I can find the little info flyer about the shop that I brought home with my reciept for hours, address, etc.
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