Jo-Ann Fabric Store Coming to Fayetteville

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores’ Fayetteville outlet is on track to open in late August, with a tentative grand opening set for Sept. 9-11, at its Steele Crossing location.

The publicly traded company touts itself as “the leading fabric and craft specialty retailer in America,” and will fill about 19,000 SF in Fayetteville. The store will feature an assortment of crafting, floral and seasonal accessories, a wide selection of fabrics for apparel, crafting, quilting, and home decorating, as well as home-décor items.

There also will be classroom space for instruction in sewing, jewelry making, cake decorating, etc. A spokeswoman said the store is expected to employ 53 part- and full-time workers.

The Fayetteville store is one of 30 new Jo-Ann stores expected to open in 2010. Another 40 are set to be remodeled.

Tony Carosello, Jo-Ann’s director of real estate, indicated there were several factors that led to the company choosing Fayetteville as a new location. Jo-Ann’s only other Arkansas store is in North Little Rock.

Carosello credited companies like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., J.B. Hunt and Tyson Foods Inc. for providing strong employment bases, and said Northwest Arkansas’ demographic makeup is in line with Jo-Ann’s internal sales forecasting model. The success of other Jo-Ann stores in the region and other factors made Fayetteville a logical choice, Carosello said.