Construction Begins

Soon to be a hardware store

It’s great seeing new businesses open on Kitsap Way in Bremerton. Last week I read in the Kitsap Sun that Ace Hardware will be building a store next to Arnold’s Furniture. As the photo shows, despite wet drizzly weather, construction is underway.

When Arnold’s rebuilt following a devastating fire in 2009, the owners scaled back the new store in size leaving about half the old slab in place. Although it was somewhat shielded by a chain link fence, the site was still an eyesore. No more. By summer Ace will be operating out of a new store that occupies the location of the former eastern half of Arnold’s. That was the older part of the Arnold’s building.

Ace won’t be the first hardware store to try its luck in Bremerton. When I moved here in the 1970’s, hardware stores seemed to be everywhere. Back then they weren’t called home improvement centers and didn’t need to be the size of a Home Depot.

But times changed, and in West Bremerton both Thurman’s (on Callow Avenue) and Pay N Pak (on Navy Yard Highway) went out of business. Ditto for the Ernst in East Bremerton. All had good service and a decent selection of parts.

There seems to be jinx that makes hardware stores in Bremerton fail. Sure they have competition from the box stores, but it has to be more than that. Call it the Bremerton Hardware Curse.

The only one left is Kitsap Lumber (on National Avenue). Otherwise, if you need a plumbing or electrical part, figure on a trip to Silverdale or to the Lowes that’s north of town on Wheaton Way.

I have never been a fan of Kitsap Lumber. They have a dingy old store and a small selection. They do a lot better with their main specialty—selling lumber. In most cases it’s worth the extra time to drive to one of the home improvement centers.

I am a fan of Ace Hardware. Any job at home involving hardware is a battle where I’m the underdog. I always have tons of questions and usually need a confidence-building pep talk from the sales staff just to get started. If the employees at the new store on Kitsap Way are anything like the helpful workers at McLendon’s (also an Ace store) in Belfair, I’m already sold on it. I hope they succeed where others have failed.

Best of all the new store will be less than 2 miles from my house with no major intersections to cross. Except for the pep talk and questions, I should be able to make a hardware run in less than 15 minutes.

The owners of the new store probably don’t need my help in selecting a name. If they do, Mud Bay Hardware works for me.