RC 360 Hobbies, a hobby-grade remote controlled (RC) vehicle shop that first opened in Centralia amid the COVID-19 pandemic, has closed, according to a news release from RC 360 owners Brandon and Sherri Gallagher.
The last day of business was Tuesday, Dec. 31.
After opening their business in 2020, the Gallaghers saw it continue to grow and even helped repurpose the Napavine Community Park amphitheater into an dirt RC car track in early 2024. The Gallaghers would also host RC competitions at the business’s location in Centralia’s Fairway Center.
Opening up a RC hobby store was their way to get families interacting with each other and give them something to do together while stay-at-home orders were in place during the pandemic.
Now, the business has been closed so the Gallaghers can spend more time with their own three children, they stated in a letter included with the news release.
Here’s the full letter:
“Nearly five years ago while having a little family fun with our remote control cars on a vacant baseball diamond, in Napavine, Washington, Sherri and I had an idea about opening an RC store. It was all about family fun and creating memories together. Fast forward a few weeks and we were putting things in motion to do just that. Soon RC 360 Hobbies was born and located in Centralia, Washington. We quickly realized that this was far more than just a business. This was a community. RC enthusiasts came from all different walks of life. Those who became customers became friends, and those who became friends became family. We have been extremely blessed and we feel that God put us in this position at a particular place and time when we, and the community, needed it most. From raffles to charities, as we were being blessed, we felt it was our duty to bless others also, in their time of need. We want you all to know that we are very grateful for you all. That being said, and as we struggle for the right words, it is with a heavy heart that we must say goodbye. When you start a business, you go into it knowing that you will have to make sacrifices, but what you won’t understand until you do it, is how much you have to sacrifice. Over the past five years we have been owner operated with no employees. That means lots of days and lots of hours and little, to no time off. So why are we closing? Family. Kids are only kids once. Blink and you’ll miss it. We have ‘blinked’ a lot while running this business and we have missed a lot in the process. Many, many, many of our children’s sporting and school events were missed, vacations canceled, and Sunday church gatherings skipped. Five years that we will never get back to spend time with our family. Although this chapter in our life is coming to an end, we are looking forward to the future. We’ve learned a lot, made many friends, and yes, despite a few burglaries, we’ve absolutely loved being a part of something so special. When will we close? The last day for store operations will be Dec. 31. Until then, business will continue as usual. Until then, business will continue as usual. Saturday, Dec. 21 will be our last 1/24 scale crawling competition. Again, as we sit here writing this letter, we want to thank you all for being a part of our lives and truly being the ones that made this experience so special. And a special thanks to all of you who have invested countless hours helping to make all our events happen! And finally, Uriah Kennedy! You have been a blessing to us in so many ways that we can’t begin to thank you enough. Thank you for coming into our lives just days after we opened and becoming a key player to the success of our business. We are truly grateful!”
RC 360 Hobbies was located at 1641 Kresky Ave. inside Centralia’s Fairway Center.
