Hobby Lobby Will Carry Jewish Items

After a swirling controversy surrounding alleged anti-semitic remarks by a Marlboro Township Hobby Lobby employee, the question of whether or not the national chain should carry Jewish holiday items arose.

Now, Hobby Lobby said it will begin testing new Jewish merchandise in select stores in the Northeast.

"Due to overwhelming demand in the Northeast, we are pleased to announce that we will begin offering Jewish holiday items in a number of stores to test the market in New York and New Jersey," Hobby Lobby President Steve Green said. 

Earlier this week, Hobby Lobby announced it is investigating the alleged remarks, which were reported by a local blogger, Ken Berwitz, who claimed a friend of his entered the Marlboro Township store looking for a bar mitzvah card and was told by an employee "We don't cater to you people."

“We sincerely apologize for any employee comments that may have offended anyone, especially our Jewish customers and friends. Comments like these do not reflect the feelings of our family or Hobby Lobby," Green said.

The chain also said it would work with merchandise buyers for the store to test Jewish items in the market. Customers will begin seeing the items in November, in test stores.

The Anti-Defamation League said, "Since the allegations about the employee’s comments first came to light, Hobby Lobby’s representatives have been in direct contact with ADL and have assured us in unequivocal terms that their company has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and that decisions on the merchandise they carry are based on consumer demand, not out of a lack of respect for other faiths."

Hobby Lobby opened in Marlboro in June, filling the empty Pathmark location on Route 9 North in Marlboro Plaza.

The store is an arts and crafts chain controlled by Green and family in Oklahoma City with 13,000 employees and 525 big-box stores in the United States as of March, 2013. It is the third location to open in New Jersey. The other stores are in South Plainfield and Millville and as of this week, one in Lawrenceville. 

Green said, "We will continue to evaluate the demand for products. We appreciate the feedback we've received from our customers, and we hope these products will meet their needs."