2008 Woodie Awards
Hardware store on Grand to reopen
By: Ari Ofsevit
Issue date: 3/31/06 Section: News
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When Grand Avenue Hardware closed in February, a nine-decade era came to an end. Many feared that the space would be subdivided and the local business would make way for another gourmet coffee or cookie shop. For those who miss their local hardware store, however, the downtime will soon end, as the building on the corner of Grand and Cambridge will reopen as an Ace Hardware store in April.
“All we want to do is bring back a great hardware store to that end of Grand,” said Mike Frattallone, one of the owners of Frattallone Hardware, which is based in Arden Hills and has thirteen Ace-branded stores in the Twin Cities Metro. The family lives in Saint Paul.
“I live in that area and my family lives in that area,” Frattallone said of the east end of Grand Avenue. When his company heard that the store near Macalester was closing, they attempted to have a seamless transition, but “it went dark, which is not what we wanted it to do,” he said. The Frattallones have been negotiating with the owner of the building since Januray.
The Frattallones have been in the hardware business for 31 years, and the company is owned by Larry Frattallone and his two sons, Mike and Tom. They own another Frattallone's hardware at Grand and Dale, which opened in 2003, but which had nothing to do with the defunct store closing, according to both Frattallone and the owner of the closed store, Jim Solin.
Frattallone said that the stores serve two distinct markets along Grand, and both were successful. Both Frattallone and Solin said that the store near Macalester had closed because of poor expansion plans when a new store which Solin opened in 2004 in Mendota Heights drained too much capital out of his business.
“They did a lot of things really right at that store, they had a great business there, and he didn't have other stores to spread the hurt around,” Frattallone said.
“All we want to do is bring back a great hardware store to that end of Grand,” said Mike Frattallone, one of the owners of Frattallone Hardware, which is based in Arden Hills and has thirteen Ace-branded stores in the Twin Cities Metro. The family lives in Saint Paul.
“I live in that area and my family lives in that area,” Frattallone said of the east end of Grand Avenue. When his company heard that the store near Macalester was closing, they attempted to have a seamless transition, but “it went dark, which is not what we wanted it to do,” he said. The Frattallones have been negotiating with the owner of the building since Januray.
The Frattallones have been in the hardware business for 31 years, and the company is owned by Larry Frattallone and his two sons, Mike and Tom. They own another Frattallone's hardware at Grand and Dale, which opened in 2003, but which had nothing to do with the defunct store closing, according to both Frattallone and the owner of the closed store, Jim Solin.
Frattallone said that the stores serve two distinct markets along Grand, and both were successful. Both Frattallone and Solin said that the store near Macalester had closed because of poor expansion plans when a new store which Solin opened in 2004 in Mendota Heights drained too much capital out of his business.
“They did a lot of things really right at that store, they had a great business there, and he didn't have other stores to spread the hurt around,” Frattallone said.
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