“ I had worked with the previous owner at a hardware store in the past, so we knew each other,” Curt said.“ Everything fell into place at the right time.”
Soon after the purchase, Penny sold her bakery in Bloomington and began working at the hardware store full time. The couple renamed the store Bear Hardware, in memory of Curt’ s late brother Barry, whom Curt called“ Bear.”
” People want to go to a place where the staff is friendly and helpful and actually cares about their problems. Our staff is dedicated and knowledgeable and that is what we have over the big box stores.”
“ Our sons were 9 and 11 at the time, so our goals were to raise our family and to hopefully be successful with the store,” Penny said.
Their son Sam had a goal then, too— he wanted to run the cash register.
“ I told him that when he was tall enough to see the buttons, he could run the register,” Curt said.“ It’ s been a great place to raise our family.”
The store continued to offer hardware and paint supplies, but Curt and Penny soon started adding merchandise based on what customers asked for.
“ We listened and if a customer asked for something, and we thought it would sell, we would add it the store,” Penny said.
They soon learned that what customers wanted more than anything was customer service.
“ Customer service is basically dead these days,” Penny said.“ People want to go to a place where the staff is friendly and helpful and actually cares about their problems. Our staff is dedicated and knowledgeable and that is what we have over the big box stores. We will never be able to compete on all of the pricing, but we will always have better customer service. And when people find customer service, they are so thankful that they are willing to pay a little extra to get it.”
Penny and Curt have far exceeded their original goals of“ just staying above water.” The store has gone through two major renovations, doubling the total square footage. They also purchased three acres next to the store for outdoor storage.
In addition to expanding the line of merchandise in the store, Penny and Curt also have added several complementary
services to the business. They now offer tool and equipment rentals, haul gravel, sand, mulch and top soil, and also offer a trash service.
For $ 2 a bag, customers can drop off their trash and Bear Hardware employees will haul it to a landfill.
Penny said she is excited about the future of Bear Hardware.
“ We will remain flexible and if an idea comes along, we will pursue it,” she said.“ I have a theory that if you don’ t change with the times, you go backwards. You have to be constantly changing and improving.”
Curt said he doesn’ t see retirement anywhere in his future, and said he plans to run the store“ forever.”
Continued on 33 Nov./ Dec. 2018 • Our Brown County 17