MANSFIELD – After running a downtown Mansfield business for 40 years, John Sutter of John’s Hobby Shop is retiring to focus on his own interests.
The longtime owner of the shop at 15 N. Main St. intends to retire in late October, liquidating the store’s inventory and putting the building up for sale.
“I don’t mind coming to work every day, but there’s other things I want to do that I’m not getting done because I’m here six days a week,” Sutter said.
The Mansfield native hopes to focus on family, take up biking, and enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds his Lucas home, where he’s now resided for more than 20 years. But this means leaving behind a job that’s allowed him to make a living while doing what he loves.
“It wasn’t like I went to work. I enjoyed it so much,” Sutter said. “When people come in to buy a hobby, they are fun people.
“It’s something to take pressure off their mind, and it’s nice to work with those kind of people.”
Sutter took a job as the manager at a start-up hobby shop in 1977, at that time it was called Tops Flite Hobby Shop.
He had just graduated from Miami University, where he studied industrial arts, and nearly moved to Cincinnati for employment. He found a job and an apartment, but before his first day of work, he came back to Mansfield and decided against leaving the place he called home.
About five years later, Sutter had the opportunity to buy the downtown business, and he’s worked there ever since, selling things like trains, remote-controlled vehicles and puzzles in a variety of skill levels.
“I was told back in ‘77 by a salesman that hobby shops are recession proof because when times get tough, people, they’re not going to want to think of doom and gloom. They’ll want to think of positive things, so they are going to come in and get a hobby,” Sutter said.
Plus, he added, a hobby is a good investment, as it can occupy people for hours.
“You can come in and purchase a model, and it could take you 40 hours to build that model, or you could go to a movie theater and pay $8 to go to the movies, but when you walk out, you have nothing to show for your $8,” he said.
To stay in business, Sutter has focused on customer service. Though the store’s inventory has changed, he’s always tried to maintain consistent customer service.
“I like to treat people the way I like to be treated,” Sutter said. “I think, that goes a long way.”
When customers visit his hobby shop, he’ll ask them who they’re shopping for, so he can best advise them on the model to buy. Sutter knows that if someone takes home something too challenging, they may get frustrated with it.
But when customers take home the project at the right skill level, he says, they’ll likely return and gradually work their way into the more difficult models.
“I really want to thank all my customers and everyone who supported me for 40 years in the community,” Sutter said. “I’ve really enjoyed this. It went way too fast.”
He said his wife Theresa has always been supportive, and he’s also grateful to the many “honest and hardworking” employees he’s had over the years.
The hobby shop’s regular hours will continue until the end of September. It’s open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, except for Friday, when it’s open from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
In October, hours will be intermittent. Sutter urges people to call the shop at 419-526-4426 before they plan to visit.
John’s Hobby Shop will permanently close on Saturday, Oct. 28. If someone needs to reach him after that, Sutter asks people to call 419-566-4826. He intends to continue repairing Lionel trains, as he is specially licensed to do this.
Sutter noted that while his current plans are to sell and donate the inventory before selling the building, he would consider selling John’s Hobby Shop to the “right person,” or someone who would continue to uphold his high standards for customer service.
