Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts seems to have the northern and eastern Maine market for fabrics, sewing supplies and crafts materials all sewn up.

“It’s the only place,” said Carol Small of Orrington, a third-grade teacher who was shopping this week for fabrics to make dresses for her granddaughters. “I have relatives who drive up from Winslow to shop here.”

“They have the best selection,” said Devra Braziller, who drove down from Lee with her daughter Samantha to shop at the store.

As the only such specialty shop for miles around, the Bangor store on Stillwater Avenue draws hobbyists and seamstresses from far and wide, making it one of the national chain’s top-selling locations in the country. The Bangor store recently hit the $3 million mark in annual sales, ranking it ninth in sales out of nearly 900 similar-sized stores in the country, according to Mike Edwards, executive vice president of operations for Jo-Ann Stores Inc., which is based in Hudson, Ohio.

Jane Daniels-Hall, an artist from Dexter, said she gets ideas for craft projects when she visits the Bangor store. “There’s just nothing like this around except for Michaels in Augusta.”

Jo-Ann Stores is the No. 1 fabric retailer in the country, well ahead of Hancock Fabrics, Hobby Lobby and Michaels Stores, its closest competitors.

The company operates 889 traditional stores in 49 states – including in Auburn, Bangor, Brunswick and Waterville in Maine – and 70 Jo-Ann superstores in 16 states. Most of the stores operate under the name Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts. They sell fabrics, sewing supplies, craft materials, decorating and floral items, and seasonal goods.

“The main thing the superstores have that the traditional stores don’t have is a custom floral designs department and a custom framing department,” said Edwards.

With about 20,000 employees nationwide, the company’s net sales for 2002 were $1.57 billion.

The Bangor store, Edwards said, is “by far the number one store in Maine” and ranks up there with even the top superstores in the United States.

The Stillwater store is one of only five in the chain chosen to be remodeled this year, he said. The renovations began in March and are scheduled to be completed by May 2.

“When the remodeling is done, it will look like a new store. Wider aisles will make for an easier shopping experience,” Edwards said. The renovation represents a substantial investment for the company, he said while declining to disclose the cost of the project.

There are no plans, Edwards said, to increase the number of employees at the Bangor store.

“Expansion would have been our first choice,” he said, explaining that the lot size at the current location on Stillwater Avenue did not accommodate that option. The company, he said, typically holds 10- to 15-year leases on store buildings. “We have made a long-term commitment to the location [in Bangor]. We do want to expand parking and we are looking at ways we can do that.”

The purpose of the remodeling is to make space to expand existing product lines – apparel fabric, artificial flowers, scrapbook supplies, cake decorating supplies, home decorating fabrics, quilting fabrics, and gardening and other seasonal items.

“We’ll be adding 250 new bolts of home decorating fabric,” said Linda White, operations team leader in Bangor. Even the store’s sign has been newly refurbished in bright green with fuchsia trim.

“Our goal is a lofty one,” Edwards said. “We want to be the premier resource for everyone pursuing creative dreams.”