Albury Hobby Centre will close its doors at the end of the month.

Albury Hobby Centre owner James Blackwell said the global pandemic had impacted trading conditions and curtailed the supply of stock.

Mr Blackwell said the sale of the David Street building in mid-May - meaning he had to find a new shop - was the last straw.

"COVID has wreaked havoc with our supplies; it's been patchy for the past year to 18 months," he said.

"Sadly, it's been the perfect storm with COVID, the stock issue and the building selling unexpectedly.

"I couldn't find another building in town at short notice that was affordable to rent and the right size."

Mr Blackwell said while the global pandemic had piqued people's interests in pursuing hobbies, his international supply chains were weakened by lockdowns and restrictions.

"Over the 18 months of COVID, we sold a lot of jigsaw puzzles but the stockists couldn't replace them as quickly as we were selling them," Mr Blackwell said.

"Telescopes became popular but we literally couldn't get a telescope in stock for six months.

"We couldn't get all of the stock we needed in at Christmas either."

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Having opened during 1951, Albury Hobby Centre was operated by Jack Ellis for 35 years.

It flourished in other CBD venues under John Morey and Kevin Molkentin, eventually shifting to the former premises of Big Chief's Trading Post.

A former Newcastle resident, Mr Blackwell, bought the business about 20 years ago when he moved to Albury to live near family.

The trained architect said he had a life-long interest in model-making.

"I caught the wave of retail optimism for the first 10 years before the Global Financial Crisis hit," he said.

"It was pre-internet early on but gradually that changed the dynamics with more people going online.

"Still, I thought this job would see me through until my retirement."

With a large showroom dedicated to myriad hobbies and model kits, enthusiasts travelled from as far as Wagga, Griffith and Wangaratta with fans dropping in from Sydney and Melbourne.

"There's only a handful of specialist hobby shops left in the capital cities now," Mr Blackwell said.

"People have been calling in to say they'll really miss it."

The last trading day will be Saturday, July 31.

Albury Hobby Centre, which is opposite Myer, opens 9am to 5pm weekdays and 9am to 2pm Saturdays.

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