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Buffalo art store Hyatt's has new bigger storefront, but even bigger online footprint

Posted at 8:01 AM, Feb 13, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-13 08:01:30-05

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Many think of Hyatt's as their neighborhood art store. Very few know that it's the largest art supply store in the country.

Even fewer know that its online storefront is even bigger than its 15,000 square foot space on Elmwood near Hertel Avenue. "We ship out anywhere between 400 to 600 packages each day. About 150 of those are outside of the United States," says Seth Martin, purchasing director of Hyatt's All Things Creative.

The art supply store started in a 200 square foot space on Franklin Avenue. It later moved down the block to Main Street in Allentown. Nearly 50 years later, the store has relocated to a space near the LA Fitness in North Buffalo. The building used to be part of a lumber company, until the team at Hyatt's renovated it into retail, warehouse and classroom space.

"The response from our customers has been incredible. I think they're taken aback when they see how much we have on display now," says Martin. The store holds about 40,000 different items, from novelty gift items to custom fountain pens, to professional grade spray paints. Their physical in-store retail is just a small portion of the business, since Hyatt's operates an enormous ecommerce platform. They supply huge household name-brands like Adidas, Asics and Eddie Bauer with Pantone products for color matching. They supply highway and public works departments for the design and printing of street signage. They also create custom products by request. "We have a doctor that creates prosthetic eyeballs and he needed a really precise brush for coloring the irises. We made that for him," says Martin.

Hyatt's All Things Creative has quietly been growing its online platform, a secret to many Western New Yorkers who come in to buy a notebook or paint palette. This expansion is a prime example of how a locally-grown business can adapt and become a destination marketplace.

To learn more about the store locations in Clarence and Buffalo or their online retail store, click here.