It’s become apparent from the increasing activity at 1280 E. Chocolate Avenue that Hershey has become the “place” for Ace.
The 38,000 square foot hardware store, housed in the former Frederick Chevrolet dealership, is now open for business with an inventory ranging from electrical, plumbing and building materials, to bird feeders, mailboxes, spouting, and tools and everything in between.
“Wednesday, Jan. 8, was our opening day, a soft opening,” according to owner Justin Werner, who owns the store with his wife, Becky.
The official grand opening is scheduled for Feb. 22, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Werner said, adding that the grand opening will be shared with an event honoring a Children’s Miracle Network family.
“We will have gift bags available for the first 50 people and a host of specials and raffles for items like a Big Green Egg grill, which will be grilling hot dogs throughout the day for shoppers, as well as a Milwaukee tool combo kit,” Becky Werner said.
“Benjamin Moore Paint is providing a one-room makeover giveaway as well, with a 20% discount on its paint,” she said.
Becky Werner added that shoppers can also expect grand opening sales on 10 different products like bird seed, suet and supplies; tape measures, grill lighters and small propane tanks.
Werner, whose family’s business history has included feed mills and hardware and building supplies, said the family operates two other Ace stores – one in Pine Grove and another in Cressona.
“Dad loved the business, he never pushed us. It was hard work with long hours. He said he met great people, and it was very rewarding,” Justin Werner said.
Werner said the idea of opening this Ace Hardware came to fruition in Sept. 2023. He said that, as their children were returning to school, Becky was thinking about a parttime job. He said they saw the empty automobile showroom and joked that they should put in a hardware store so she could work there during school hours.
The idea, after some thought, gained traction, but he said there were a number of bumps in the road before it became reality.
“We had a number of setbacks,” Werner said. ”Permitting setbacks, real estate setbacks, land development issues. I’d hoped to be open by the end of October.”
However, when it was finally time to move, he said Ace came in with its store planning coordinators and teams to set up racking and inventories.
“They lay it out, and we can tweak and change it as needed,” he said.
Store hours for Hershey’s Ace Hardware are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 to 3 p.m. and Sundays, 8 to 3 p.m.
Read more at https://news.thesunontheweb.com/articles/ace-is-the-place/