Hobby shop gives building new life

The building at 1249 E. Battlefield housed an athletic club in the 70s and nightclubs such as Dub's, Custer's, Graffiti's, Yucatan and Zazoo in the 80s and 90s. In 00, the building will begin a new era as the home of one of the largest train and hobby shops in the country, according to Battlefield Station Family Hobbies owners Craig King and Larry Levine, who lease the building from owner Gary Summers. Summers has owned the building since 1982 and also owns Cartoons.

Battlefield Station will open Aug. 1 and will be a provider of model trains, hobby equipment, train memorabilia and dollhouses. The building is now undergoing a major renovation and will resemble a turn-of-the-19th-century train depot by August, King said.

"We're not recreating a depot, but we're trying to give it that feel," King said. "The hobby store will be more than just trains, but trains will be the main feature of it. We'll carry all lines of hobbies, like dollhouses, plastic cars, wooden toys, railroad antiques, really nice stuff."

King, who is a former Cox department director, said he and Levine are train buffs and also own Mainline Model Supply in Chesterfield Village. Mainline has been open for about six years and will close after the new shop opens and its inventory is moved to Battlefield Station, King and Levine said. Battlefield Station will also feature a Harvey House-type snack counter. Harvey House was a chain of restaurants that operated inside Santa Fe Railroad train depots across the United States.

"Eating at a Harvey House back then was kind of like eating at a McDonald's now. It was the same food no matter where you were at and you always knew what to expect. You knew the food would be good, the price would be reasonable and the place would be clean," King said.

King said the Harvey House snack counter will evolve into a light lunch counter, with soups, sandwiches and salads for customers.

"In addition to Harvey House, we envision that area to be a place where people can sit and relax and look at the trains," Levine added.

Battlefield Station will also have model trains running throughout the store and will utilize the outdoor area in the back, which was formerly an outdoor dance floor, as a garden railway.

"We'll have an operating garden railway outside, and there's a lot of interest in that. It's been big on the West Coast for a number of years and it's catching on here now. We've got a lot of ideas for the outdoor area," King said.

Summers said he's enthusiastic about his new tenants. The building has been was empty for more than a year, but Summers said Battlefield Station was worth waiting for.

"I wanted to see a change of use for that building, so I waited to rent it until the right tenant came along," Summers said.

He added that adjacent businesses Ozark Fitness Center and Pep Boys are also looking forward to Battlefield Station opening.

King said he expects customers of both establishments to filter over to Battlefield Station.

"What better place to wait for your car to be worked on at Pep Boys than at our snack counter?" he said.

King said the Battlefield location was chosen because it's a freestanding building and because of its high visibility and size.

"We wanted a free-standing building; there's no way we could do the things we wanted to do with this store in a strip mall. The size is great. We got a good deal on it and went with it," King said.

Levine said they plan to hire at least one employee after the store opens. Store hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. six days a week with shorter hours on Sundays.

When planning Battlefield Station, Levine and King incorporated ideas from other successful Springfield businesses.

"We're going to be a little bit of Bass Pro, a little bit of Silver Dollar City, a little bit of Barnes & Noble with a smattering of Cheers,' without the beer," King said.