Tandy Leather Opens Upscale Leathercraft Retail Store in Fort Worth, Texas

Portfolio

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – July 3, 2013 – Since 1919 Tandy Leather has been America’s best known source for leather and leathercrafting. Today, Tandy Leather is the global leader in leathercraft materials and supplies with more than 100 company-owned stores in three continents. To reflect its position as a leading international specialty retailer and reach a greater number of potential leather enthusiasts, the leadership of Tandy Leather wanted to upgrade the image and design standard for its retail properties.

To accomplish this, Tandy Leather selected Bob Moore Construction as the design-build contractor and Alliance Architects in Dallas, TX as the architect for an entirely new concept in leathercraft retailing, a new store design that incorporates stylish modern features that mirror a more hi-tech, upscale look.

On June 7, 2013 Tandy Leather celebrated the grand opening of the new flagship store, an exciting 23,000 SF showcase property next to the company’s corporate headquarters along I-20 Freeway in Fort Worth, Texas. The new store is the first stand-alone retail property in the company’s 90+ year history, and will serve as the prototype for future Tandy stores.

“I think it turned out great,” said Jon Thompson, President of Tandy Leather. “We have received a lot of compliments on the new store from everyone. They love the wrap-around glass front and the classroom area.”

The new Tandy Leather store was built using tilt-up construction. It features a 100% glass front wall with a silicon surface glazed window system to provide an open feel to the space. The open front allows motorists to see the store’s interior from nearby Interstate-20, and provides a large, transparent canvas to display the company’s cowhides and other products. A 130-foot long decorative, angular wing clad in metal skin spans the front of the building to accentuate the modern look. Surrounding the front entrance are two concentric angular features that match the metal wing stylistically.

On the interior, catwalks on either side of the entrance are engineered into the glass wall’s steel framework to provide access to the second story level on the front windows.

The retail space features 20,000 SF of space in a single-bay open configuration to present the store’s huge inventory of leather and leathercraft supplies. The floor is covered with a durable barnwood-embossed rubber planking. Accent lighting throughout the interior highlights product displays. A large, circular kiosk hosts several cashiers and customer service representatives. At the rear of the store is a loading bay that allows forklift access to the product staging space and showroom. A 3,000 SF mezzanine over the back right corner of the sales space hosts a classroom, employee break room and business offices. An elevator and staircase connect the mezzanine to the first floor.

“This was an outstanding opportunity for us,” said Kyle Whitesell, Vice President of Bob Moore Construction. “As design-build contractor we had a substantial amount of input on the aesthetics of this new building, and it’s exciting to know that our concepts for this project will provide the basis for any new stores Tandy Leather builds in the future.”

Mr. Thompson was pleased with his experience working with Bob Moore Construction. “This was our second time to work with Bob Moore Construction and we wanted to do this project with them because of their professionalism on the first project they did for us,” he explained. “They really went out of their way to make sure we were happy with every aspect of the building process.”

“It was a pleasure to work with Jon Thompson and Cheryl Landry on this project,” said Mr. Whitesell, “and we appreciated our relationship with Tandy Leather that led to us creating this exciting new building.

“This is a showcase project for us as well as for Tandy Leather,” added Mr. Whitesell. “The new store presents a compelling, high-tech design to thousands of passing motorists every day, giving a very high exposure to yet another type of building that we’ve been able to deliver successfully for our clients.”