Whistle Stop Hobbies
130 South Royal Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 549-4912
www.whistlestophobbies.com
About Frank:
Frank Kozuch has been a train enthusiast for as long as he can remember. His parents bought him his first train set when he was 6 months old (he still has it!). During his teen years, his thoughts turned to other things and the trains were boxed and packed away. In 1985, Frank brought the train sets out of the closet and set them up on his ping-pong table. The rest is history.
About Whistle Stop Hobbies:
In 1993 (while working in the computer business), Frank started selling trains at craft shows as a hobby. By 2000, after coping with his father’s illness, he decided to drop the day job and pursue what really made him happy. Frank dove headfirst into his new endeavor, and was soon spending most of his time on the road (48 out of 52 weekends in 2004). By 2005, Frank (along with his business associate Amy Parks) decided it was time to open a retail store in Alexandria that combined his love of trains with her desire to have a hobby store. The Whistle Stop was born.
Business Philosophy:
“My philosophy is to never close your mind to anything.”
“We sell memories”, Frank continued, “The train under the Christmas tree - it’s something you remember forever.”
“I try to nurture the growth of the enthusiast.” Frank and Amy try to pair starter sets with novices. “You’re only going to get frustrated if you start trying to build a wooden ship on your first day. You need to crawl before you walk, and walk before you run”.
Why did you choose to do this?
“We’re both people-oriented”, Frank stated. “The store gives us a great place to interact – I didn’t have this with my computer job. Also, I wanted to settle a bit – 48 weekends a year is a bit too much traveling. I was at the mercy of the convention schedule”. Frank continues, “A store front also allows us to carry items such as Lego, which are unavailable to traveling salespeople”
Why Alexandria?
“I grew up in the area. We were very fortunate to find our space. We love the atmosphere here in Alexandria. It’s a unique market – people here are very receptive to local businesses (as opposed to big chains).”
Interesting Tidbit?
We celebrated Whistle Stop’s second anniversary on Tuesday (May 1). Also, Whistle Stop sponsors lap 73 of the Indy 500!
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