Gold Coast Hobby closing its doors after more than 30 years in Glen Head

Walking into Gold Coast Hobby one can barely see the back counter. The store itself is like a hobbyist’s workshop, with shelves crammed with model kits, paints, glues, figures, and rows of small ships.

Charlie Gonder greets everyone who comes into his shop like an old friend, offering a cup of coffee and a smile. And he often has a twinkle in his eyes that makes you believe he might be up to something mischievous. A small television above the counter plays shows like “The Little Rascals” and Abbot and Costello movies. Nearby, a child’s picture hangs that reads — “Dear Grandpa … love, Tommy.” The store is kind of like a home away from home, but Gonder, who owns the hobby store, will be closing the store. He’s retiring after 31 years in the business.

“People ask me what I specialize in,” Gonder said. “My answer is always customer service.”

Gonder has always operated Gold Coast Hobby in Glen Head with his wife, Dot, a Glen Cove native and hairdresser. They started the business after Gonder left his job as the director of engineering at Multiwire, a subsidiary of Photocircuits based in Glen Cove. Gonder took his family on a vacation to California after quitting his job. That is where he spent three weeks writing out a business plan for Gold Coast Hobby.

Business has always been good, Charlie says, and after more than 30 years, not much has changed. He prides himself on his business acumen when others in the industry have folded. “When I started there were 22 hobby shops in Nassau County,” Gonder said. “Now there are four.” He admits he doesn’t know why he has remained in business when others have struggled.

Over the years Charlie Gonder has been asked to use his experience as an engineer and hobbyist in some interesting ways, like to make props for television, movies, and shows. When “Beauty and the Beast” hit the Broadway scene, he was commissioned to create a remote control rose, whose petals would fall at precisely the right moment. He also remembers when he had to create a fake cat in a bag. “The cat was supposed to wiggle around unseen in the bag and then stop abruptly,” Gonder recalled with a chuckle. “The show got a call from the Humane Society, [who] thought the cat was real and was being abused.”

There are also two WWII boat models that he crafted on display in the Smithsonian Museum.

Married for 47 years, Charlie and Dot behave like a newly married couple. When asked what he plans to do with his time once he retires, Charlie replied, “Chase her around the pool.”

The couple have two sons and a grandson, Tommy, who is 3. Although he has wanted to retire for some time, Tommy is the reason Charlie has committed to closing the shop this year. “He is the best thing that ever came into our lives,” Charlie said, with Dot nodding in agreement. “Yes, we spoil him.”

Philanthropy has been a priority for Charlie and Dot. They have sent model kits to troops in Afghanistan and Baghdad. And a Vietnam veteran himself, Charlie always gives his fellow vets a discount.

Gold Coast Hobby will close on May 1. Whatever inventory they can’t sell will be donated to the VA hospital. There is a lot that Gonder will miss about the hobby shop. “My three favorite times of the year were Christmas, the Boy Scout’s Pinewood Derby, and school science project time,” Gonder said, adding that those were his busiest times of the year. He hopes that people will stop into the shop and take advantage of his sale prices and his hospitality. “But,” Gonder says with his signature devilish grin, “they have to like Abbott and Costello.”