Hours:
- Monday-Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Sundays now through Christmas from noon to 4 p.m.
If you’re shopping for top-quality toys and hobby items this holiday, look no further than Homewood Toy & Hobby Shop.
Located in the heart of Homewood with plenty of free parking, Homewood Toy & Hobby Shop has been family owned and operated since 1950 and is the oldest store of its kind in metro Birmingham.
After all, why fight the crowds at the big-box stores, and why shop online when you can buy local?
Homewood Toy & Hobby has everything you need, from cutting-edge innovation to nostalgic charm.
The store carries a wide array of top-quality brands, including many that are hard to find at most retailers.
Toy brands include Hape Toys, Corolle Dolls, Lego, Brio, Green Toys and Ravensburger. Hobby brands include Traxxas and Arrma, Revell and Lionel Trains, and the store stocks a great selection of HO, O and G scale trains and accessories.
“We carry the largest selection of remote-controlled items in Birmingham, including trucks, boats, planes, drones and Traxxas cars,” said long-time store owner Tricia McCain.
One popular item is a remote-controlled, battery-powered drone made by Jupiter Creations.
“We’ve been flying it around in the store,” McCain said.
Of course, some of the most popular items at the store never change.
“There are things that kids like to play with that never go out of style, including board games, wooden puzzles, puppets and dress-up clothes,” McCain said.
Homewood Toy & Hobby has a warm, personal touch you won’t find online or at the big-boxes.
“We have great customer service, and our staff is knowledgeable and experienced,” McCain said.
In addition, most of the employees – including store manager Julie Marix – have been with Homewood Toy & Hobby for years.
This means that customers recognize familiar faces when they come to shop.
“You go to a big-box store and you don’t know the employees,” McCain said. “People like seeing the same people over and over again.”
Homewood Toy & Hobby’s employees love toys and hobby items and provide enthusiastic service.
“We love walking around the store with customers and helping them pick out toys,” McCain said.
Parents and grandparents love to come into the store with their kids, McCain said.
“Adults may shop online, but kids love to come in and pick out what they want,” she said.
The store offers customers free gift wrapping on any purchases over $12 and has its own 44-space parking lot behind the store.
McCain takes pride in her family’s legacy at Homewood Toy & Hobby.
“Not many small businesses make it this long,” she said.
“We’ve done our best to evolve and stay on top of the latest trends while staying true to the classic toys we grew up playing with,” Marix said.
McCain assumed ownership of the store from her dad in 2012 and has been helping out there since she was a child.
It’s fun building long-term relationships with customers, she said. “It’s just nice to have that history.”
“We see the same customers come in for multiple generations and our employees have become familiar faces to help them with their gift needs,” Marix said.
