'Stranger Things' in Marietta: Local business the set for Season 4 finale

MARIETTA — While watching the latest batch of episodes, local “Stranger Things” fans might have caught a glimpse of a familiar Marietta merchant that’s been in business for more than 50 years.

At midnight on Friday, the popular Netflix show debuted Season 4: Volume 2 to the anticipation of viewers around the world. The drop contained two feature-long episodes that serve as the season’s finale. The show, which has been filmed in several spots around Georgia, has been a popular staple for horror,’80s-era nostalgia and Dungeons and Dragons fans alike.

Gay Earls, owner of Hodge Army Navy, said the show filmed at her shop’s old location in May 2021 before the store’s move to a new location. Hodge Army Navy was at 507 Cobb Parkway for 51 years, even longer than the Big Chicken has been around, she said. The store has since relocated just a mile away at 1477 Roswell Road, Suite 300, Earls said.

“We pretty much went down in size and got air conditioning and that was the main thing,” she said.

This is not the first time a show has filmed at the store, Earls said; the store was also the set for an episode of “We Got Love Teyana & Iman,” a reality TV show, a few years prior. Earls, who watches “Stranger Things,” said filming at her business was an exciting experience.

“Even though (the store) was shut down, we could go in and see some of the changes they had made and it was really cool to see their take on it,” she said. “Especially since we had been there for 51 years, and this was kind of like the last hurrah in the building.”

Though Earls and her husband didn’t get to meet any stars from “Stranger Things,” they were able to see their shop transformed into an 80s relic for the show’s set. The production’s art department would take items in the store and make replica boxes and even brought in a vintage Jeep. Earls said her husband did meet Shawn Levy, the show’s director, and many of the crew members.

“We didn’t get to meet any of the stars because it was a closed set when they filmed that day,” she said.

While Earls wasn’t there on the day of filming, she said her son gave a play-by-play as he watched the store from across the street at the Piccadilly on Cobb Parkway.

“And I know they had brought a bus of extras that were all dressed up and had dropped them off,” she said. “And I know that their camp was over at the Cobb Civic Center during all of this so they would transport people back and forth from there for the filming.”

Originally, the show’s producers wanted to come to Hodge Army Navy for about a week to set up the scene and film, Earls said. But when two “Stranger Things” cast members came down with COVID-19, the project extended for nearly a month, she said.

“Well, long story short, we were closed for a month while they redid the store,” she said. “They were shut down because of COVID and then they had to come back in and finish up what they were doing and then they filmed one whole day straight. They started like six in the morning and filmed to I think midnight the next day.”

Earls said she didn’t know the context of the scene, but noticed on the show’s official Instagram account a post that includes a backdrop similar to her store. The picture depicts the character Nancy, holding a shotgun, facing off against one of the season’s minor villains, Jason, in what appears to be an ammunition store. Another shot shows the disheveled gang in a shop being led by the character Erica, one of the show’s younger stars.

“They used a lot of the stuff that we already had in there, and then they brought some stuff of their own in there as well,” she said.

Earls said observable witnesses last year would have noticed the signage change at the old location to read “Warzone” instead of Hodge Army Navy, with a reference to Hawkins, Indiana. She said Shawn Levy liked the business’ sign so much with its rocket emblems, he had his set designers incorporate it into the set’s design.

“So if you were watching and you drove by, you would have picked up on it because it was up there for probably two weeks or more,” she said.

The show even included signs that Earls had throughout the store. She said set designers thought their price tags from the 80s were a special touch to include. To see some of these same elements that appeared in the show, a fan would only have to stop by Hodge Army Navy’s new location.

To celebrate their appearance in “Stranger Things,” Hodge Army Navy is launching its grand reopening at the new Roswell location on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Earls said the day will include local comedians, music, door prizes, giveaways and the store will be selling two custom “Stranger Things” shirts for fans.

“We will have some of the things (in the episode) here that people can come in and take their picture with if they wanted to, that they’ll see actually in the episode,” she said.

When asked about her predictions for the finale, Earls said she didn’t have any ideas for how the show might end its season, but had heard rumors that the character Steve would meet his demise.

“I’m really anxious to see what parts of the store that they’ve used in it,” she said.