For the past 40 years, hobbyists looking for the perfect accessory to their remote controlled car or just the right color paint for their model airplane have flocked to Colpar Hobbies.

But in recent years, the store at 804 S. Havana St. began to seem a bit isolated as other retailers at the shopping center near Havana and East Kentucky Avenue closed up shop.

“There was no other retail right there where we were just kind of out by ourselves,” said Colpar owner Fred Beardsley. “I wanted to get moved to an area that was a little more active.”

Early this month, Colpar did just that, moving to a new storefront at 1915 S. Havana St.

The move went relatively quick, with the old store being open on June 30, and the new one up and running less than 48 hours later on July 2.

“It was a busy weekend,” Beardsley said.

The new store at Havana Street and East Jewell Avenue is substantially bigger than the old one, Beardsley said.

Customers likely won’t notice much of a difference between the old store and the new shop other than the size, he said.

“It’s a better shopping experience because it’s a little more spread out,” he said as staff stocked shelves at the new store last week.

The extra space means the store won’t feel as cramped, but it also means Beardsley can add some merchandise he may not have had room for at the old location.

“I’m always on the lookout for something new and different,” he said.

When he set out to find a new location, Beardsley said he didn’t want to move too far, in large part because of the local customer base built up over 40 years at the old location and a few years before that near the old Stapleton Airport.

“I could have looked anywhere in town, but I really did want to stay relatively close to the area,” he said. “I didn’t want to move radically far away.”

The new storefront is just a few blocks south of the old one.

“So far most of the customers, even though we haven’t moved that far, say we are closer to them,” Beardsley said.

Beyond the added size, the new store also has a basement that Beardsley said he is excited about using for hobby group meetings or other things down the road.

“There are all sorts of different possibilities that we could do down there,” he said. “For years we’ve talked about doing something to draw people to the store besides just the merchandise. That gives us the opportunity to do that.”

Beyond the move, Colpar also recently signed on as a franchise for HobbyTown USA. The store’s official name now is Colpar’s HobbyTown USA.

Beardsley said affiliating with Hobby Town is part of what he sees as a larger trend in the industry.

“Looking at the future of the industry and the business, down the road I think you will really see a lot of affiliations happen to help people increase their buying power,” he said.

Other than a customer rewards program and a few exclusive promotional deals, Beardsley said he doesn’t expect customers to notice much different now that Colpar is part of HobbyTown.

The other Colpar location in Lakewood also affiliated with HobbyTown.

Cody Carlson, a franchise business adviser for Hobby Town, said Colpar is the first the chain has converted an existing hobby store. Usually, the chain starts up new locations, he said.

According to HobbyTown’s website, the company was founded in 1980 by Merlin Hayes and Thomas Walla in Lincoln, Neb. Since then, it has grown to more than 170 locations in 43 states.