The nuts and bolts of a successful hardware store all comes down to service, said Chris Socha, general manager of Waters Hardware stores.
“We stress service,” said Socha, who on Tuesday morning discussed the chain’s plans to open a new store in the shopping plaza on North State Street.
Socha is general manager of the chain’s 27 stores, located primarily in Kansas. Its headquarters are in Paola, where its owner, Rusty Gerken, lives.
Starting from scratch in a new building “is different for us,” said Socha. The building is the site of the former Westco furniture store, which was destroyed in September 2021 when an 8-inch rain tore through its roof.
Tom Benton, a real estate developer from Grand Junction, Colo., and owner of the strip mall since 2003, has restored the building to turn-key condition.
“The industry trend is to buy ‘mom-and-pop’ places,” Socha said. “People come to us wanting to sell us their stores. That’s how we’ve grown the business.”
Socha said the company “had been looking in your area for quite a while. I think we’ll be a good complement to what’s in Iola and the area.”
Waters Hardware began in 1894 in Manchester, Kansas. Over the years it grew to seven stores, mainly based in the north-central section of the state. In 2019, the Gerken family added the stores to their equipment rental business and has since rapidly expanded.
“Anytime we acquire a new store we hope the current staff stays,” Socha said. “That’s what’s best for the store, and the community.”
“Starting from scratch will be different,” he said. “It’s going to take us a couple of months or so to get everything ready. We need to install cabinets, shelves and fixtures. We need to find and train a crew.”
While not large enough to accommodate lumber, the 12,000-square-foot facility will concentrate on being a “good, solid hardware store,” said Socha.
“We’ll be your one-stop shop for plumbing and electrical. And we typically have the biggest fastener department around,” he said, noting they carry the Milwaukee line of tools as well as Do-It-Best materials and Valspar paint.
Plans are to open the store for business in January 2025.
