Turning from a passion for pets to a passion for a hobby that's grown.

When Amazon sold its first book in 1995, it helped spark a retail revolution that would touch countless industries including small independent hobby shops.

Online shopping has made it tough to compete.

But as producer reporter John Branscum shows us, one shop in Landis has found its unique value proposition, service.

(upbeat music) - [John] From the outside, Chuck's Trains & Hobby Depot doesn't give much away.

But step inside and it's a different story.

Shelves packed with trains, toys, games, puzzles, paints and collectibles create a kind of sensory overload for hobbyists of all ages.

- [Chuck] We stock more puzzles than most anybody else anywhere.

More model cars than other people.

We've got all the paints, we've got the glues, we've got trains, all the accessories for the trains.

If you wanna play Monopoly, we have Monopoly under about 45 different titles.

Old candy, the old toys.

- [John] For owners Chuck and Deanna Freeze, a store this full doesn't run itself.

- Prepping website orders, bringing in new merchandise, shopping for new merchandise.

That's Chuck's favorite.

- [John] And it doesn't take long before the first customers come through the door.

- Chuck's has everything.

Like on the outside, it might just seem like a model train store.

I mean, they've got everything from rockets right here, we've got the Warhammer section, you got a D&D section over there, you got puzzles, you got model cars, you got board games, like you got the model train stuff, like anything that you could want that's like a hobby or a game, it's in here.

- [John] But what's now a thriving retail space began with much more modest roots.

- We started out 25 years ago, just shipping on eBay.

eBay was fresh and it just started and we were up here at night, shipping out, shipping out, shipping out.

People's like, well, can you get this?

Can you get this?

Till we ended up with a whole store full of stuff.

- [John] Their first retail space was just half the size of what they have now.

- Predominantly model trains, N scale, HO scale and O scale.

We were bursting at the seams.

Had as much as we could in every square inch of that building and it allowed us to build our business there.

- [John] Then came the chance to grow.

- It's about four years ago, I got the opportunity to buy these buildings and add in all the toys.

- [John] But even a growing small town hobby shop has its challenges.

- It's mostly just the exposure.

It's like trying to figure out where to advertise or anything else.

It's like, there's no real reason to advertise locally because everybody knows you're here.

You gotta branch out and get out further than that but then it's like, then who are you trying to get?

Do you want to train people?

Do you want to model people?

- [John] And to stand out among the competition, the Freezes lean into something online retail just can't offer.

- [Chuck] We've got more to selection.

You can actually put your hands on it and see what it is.

We got people in here that can tell you what it is and how to use it.

And we actually have people here that can work on the stuff if it breaks down.

- [John] For many customers, that hands-on experience is a big part of the appeal.

- There's a lot of stuff you can buy off the internet but I'm the type of guy I want it.

I want it now.

Like I'm working on scenery right now and I need some more syringery material.

It's gonna save a few bucks but I just come here and get it.

Support my local hobby shop.

- [John] But for many customers, the biggest difference.

- [Mike] Expertise, knowledge.

- Especially if you're trying something new or you want to try something new.

They're the ones you need to talk to.

Keep you out of trouble.

- [John] James Wagner stopped by Chuck's to pick up a few things for his great-nephew, Brantley's model railroad.

Passing his own love of the hobby onto the next generation.

- He's done as much or more good for me than I will ever do for him.

But it's been a true delight to do these trains with him.

- [John] Now the hobby doesn't end at the store for Brantley.

It comes to life here.

- This space basically is just like the train layers, my home away from being upstairs and just my place to come down and relax.

It takes a lot of hard work.

Money-wise, extreme and really just passion for it.

You gotta see the things that people don't really see and just little tiny details and stuff like that.

- [John] Now for Brantley, this is about more than trains.

- [Brantley] It really just brings out the happiness in me that I get to spend the time with him to build this and just have fun with trains with him.

Really blessed just to have all of this and just to have my great-uncle and everybody else that's encouraged me to do this and helped me through the hard times with this stuff.

- [John] And back at Chuck's, that passion is easy to see.

- You get to know your customer.

You get to know their story and their family.

- I like seeing it ship out through the back.

I like seeing it go out through the front door.

I like buying the stuff and seeing it come in.

So I mean, that's just me.

I like to buy it and I like to watch it go out.

- To see kids light up and practically scream with excitement, it makes my day.

- [John] With all the trains inside Chuck's, you might expect to find a model layout too, but you won't.

- No, we got a full-size one across the street.

So you can stay here all day long and watch them go back and forth.

- [John] For "Carolina Impact," I'm John Branscum.