Tom Thumb Hobbies

A Very Sad Goodbye........

re·tire·ment | \ ri-ˈtī(-ə)r-mənt \
Definition of retirement
a: an act of retiring : the state of being retired
b: withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from active working life
c: the scariest thing I have EVER DONE !!!!

The day is here that I thought would never come. After spending 59 years of my life at Tom Thumb Hobbies our remaining time is numbered in mere days. I was made an offer that I couldn’t possibly refuse. It was kept quiet because there were so many different things happening at once that could affect the outcome that we thought it best. The buyer needs possession quickly so they are purchasing everything but will NOT be reopening the store as a hobby shop or anything similar. I’m doing everything I can to make sure the King finds a good home but soon it will not be mine to decide.

Cindy and I are sick, literally, thinking about those of you we may never see again. Our customers are more than just people. They are friends and family. Hopefully we will see many of you in the future, around town or wherever we may be. We are staying local so hopefully that will happen. We have tons of fantastic memories and are looking forward to making more with you if possible.

I never imagined it would be so hard to say “goodbye” to a building and business that sometimes made us work 7-day weeks and 20-hour days for little money. But the pain of the impending closing is incredible. Cindy and I have made plans for what we wanted to do if we ever did have the opportunity of retiring. And we are excited about them. But leaving is so hard ……… Those of you in the slot racing community will ALWAYS hold a special place in our hearts. The support you have shown for us, especially Cindy since her cancer diagnosis, has been beyond compare. We LOVE you ALL.

Covid forced us to cancel almost all our events for the last 3 years. We will always regret not seeing our racers at least one more time. We certainly intended to host at least one R4. Actually, two because 13 is not a good number to end with. 😊 But that is not to be. We are very proud of its 12-year history. Extremely close racing with some of the best racers in the country. I think 70 entries in one class is still a record for an IRRA event with near 240 for the complete event. Quality and quantity! It was you the racers that made the R4 what it was. We couldn’t have done it without you. And of course, a very special Thank You to the family and friends who worked tirelessly to keep things rolling. My awesome wife Cindy, Jessica, Kyle, Avery, JB, Rick, Tina, Jim, Earl, Jason, Mike, Sharon, …..too many to list. And we absolutely can’t forget race director extraordinaire Eric Balicki. THANK YOU.

Now that the book is closed on the era of the R4 we hope whatever takes over its traditional March time slot is as amazing and successful as the it was. And with any luck I will be there racing with all of you. That is one of MY retirement wishes. I want to finally enjoy all the things I offered to my customers that hopefully brought some FUN into their lives.

We have been blessed with a situation where we can just hand over the keys and walk away. Not many small businesses are able to close on their own terms like this. Business is good but retail is getting tougher every day. As hard as leaving is it’s time to kick back and enjoy. We are going to use the proceeds to buy a new home more friendly to Cindy’s health issues. She certainly deserves it.

Our final day is Sunday September 11. We are holding on to the name and email accounts. Reach out to us if you want. We’d love to hear from you. And who knows, maybe somewhere down the line we might just reopen somewhere.

We will miss every one of you. Thank you for all the years of friendship and memories.
Till we meet again……..
With Love – Mike & Cindy

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