Ben Franklin has already begun liquidation sales with 25% off everything in the store except for printing services and will be tentatively open through July 23. Owners Sarah Martin and her husband Jim will be closing the sale of the building Monday and are looking forward to retirement to spend more time with their children in Florida, she said.

The Martins first purchased the store in 1995 from her father who opened the original Ben Franklin store on Washington Street back in 1961, she said.

“We have a great, little business. My whole life has been the Ben Franklin store (be)cause I was 2 when we moved to Marquette and my dad opened the store downtown,” Martin said. “… When it first started, it was a five-and-dime with little candy dispensers and just like a mini Target or whatever, but as we developed, you have to keep your niche.”

Over the years, Ben Franklin has transformed and has ended with multiple services from framing, quilting and printing, Martin said. The business evolved in order to stay viable with competing big box stores and online shopping, she added.

A rainbow aisle of bobbins decorate the store with a crafty spirit. (Journal photo by Jackie Jahfetson)

“It’s hard. First of all, you have to live with the big box stores … We cannot compete with their prices but we can offer coupons and give customer service that they don’t provide,” she said.

Located at Coles Drive, the store is easily accessible for customers because you pull up and don’t have to walk far to get what you need, Martin noted.

Another way the store has been able to retain customers throughout the years is by offering higher quality merchandise that big box stores are not able to provide, she said.

But it’s a “constant battle” updating with the current trends, Martin said they are very fortunate to have been able to do it for so long. However, not answering to the store will take some time to adjust to because owning a business is like a “whole other marriage,” she remarked, because there’s so many aspects you have to worry about, from the building, customers and weather.

Ben Franklin is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and closed Sundays.

From red and white polka dots to gingham, spools of fabric await the next craftsman or woman to enter the store. (Journal photo by Jackie Jahfetson)

The store is located at 100 Coles Drive in Marquette. For more information, call 906-226-9613.

Jackie Jahfetson can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248. Her email address is