Ann's Hobby Center In Cos Cob Closes Its Doors

GREENWICH, CT — After decades in business at 405 E. Putnam Ave. in Cos Cob, Ann's Hobby Center has closed its doors for good.

Featuring model trains, plastic and wood model kits of airplanes, ships, rockets, tanks, cars, and other crafts, the business served hobbyists from all over for over 50 years.

Ann Suger worked in the store for 15 years before taking over as owner in 2001 and making it her own.

Suger said earlier this week that the time is right to close up shop and head into retirement.

"When you've had a good time like I've had, you're always going to have mixed feelings," Suger said. Her last day of sales was Aug. 25. The majority of her remaining inventory was sold to a hobby shop in White Plains, N.Y.

"I'm going to miss my people. I enjoyed working with them and for them, but there's also a time. I'm way over retirement age. It's time to go back to my garden and start it over since it hasn't had attention in 20 years."

Sugar grew up in California, and her love for crafts was encouraged by her parents at a young age. Her mother made curtains and upholstered chairs, and her father was a builder. She moved to Greenwich over 30 years ago.

"I love it here," she said.

The store attracted hobbyists not just from Greenwich, but from all over the country including Ohio, Maine and Florida.

"The community support here has always been important, but it's the kind of store that draws from all over," Suger said. "My customers are often travelers."

In retirement, Suger said she plans to work on completing a large 26-foot train layout in her basement.

"Trains run on it, but there's a lot of landscaping and personality to be added to it," she said. "That's one of my goals in retirement."

Glenville resident Guy Barresi has lived in town for about 60 years, and has gone to Ann's Hobby Center for as long as he can remember. Barresi is an avid collector and builder of older and classic plastic kits including airplanes, ships, rockets, tanks and cars.

"It's a shame. We hate to see her go after all these years," Barresi said. Going to Ann's was a family occasion most days, as Barresi's children were also into kit building, either personally or for school projects.

If Barresi needed a special kind of glue or other special supplies, he could always zip over to Ann's and expect to find what he needed.

"If you needed it and it seemed obscure, Ann would always seem to have it on hand, or she could get it. She was great at understanding distributors and locating things that were hard to find. She was tremendous at it," Barresi said.

Ann's represents a dying breed in two senses — a hobby shop in an age of electronics and video games, and a classic mom and pop business.

"As far as that mom and pop shop feel, there aren't a lot of these places left. They're few and far between now, and Ann really kept it together for many years. She helped so many of us when we needed help," Barresi said. "It's desperately sad."

Barresi went to Ann's one last time last week to say thank you and goodbye.