There will be a full service hardware store once again at the corner of M-139 & Miners Road in Scottdale.
Scottdale True Value Hardware will open around December 1, about five months after Pater True Value closed its doors after a fifteen year run at the site. The new store will be operated by Doug Landers and his family of Bangor, owners of Landers Hardware in Bangor since 1980 and Wolverine Hardware in South Haven since 2007.
Landers says he couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity in Scottdale. And Joe Pater, who operated Pater True Value since 2007, says he couldn’t have found a better successor to serve his customers than lifelong hardware guy Doug Landers. Both men smile and literally ‘beam’ about the deal they put together to write a new chapter of The Hardware Story on that busy crossroads in Scottdale.
There’s been a hardware store there for at least sixty years, according to Pater. In the 1960’s it was across the street and was known as Hobby-Nelson Hardware. After a big fire, the store moved West to the current spot. Over the years it was greatly expanded to 19,000 square feet and became a True Value store when the Pater family assumed ownership in 2007.
Now, Doug Landers and general manager and son-in-law Mark Hills will expand their operation to Scottdale. They plan to hire 12 to 15 people, a mix of full and part-time employees. Landers told us “four dedicated, knowledgeable veterans” from Pater’s staff will form the nucleus of his Scottdale crew.
Landers believes passionately that success in retail begins with “customer service and relationships.” He wants to “create a welcoming, friendly, fun environment” in which to shop. He says the store is “almost move-in ready” and he will only make a few changes. They include a new Point of Sale/Inventory Management system and modernizing the store’s layout for maximum ease of shopping.
Landers says “We have to be problem solvers. Our job is to ‘take the hard out of hardware.” Joe Pater chimes in, saying “Customers come in wanting to touch and feel the product, not just see it online. They want to know how to use it, and that’s where our people come in. They KNOW… and they can help.”
The two hardware gurus say there’ll always be a place for a hardware store because people are working on projects today, and they need parts or assistance today that they just can’t get online. “Tomorrow or the next day, or just watching a video, won’t cut it,” says Landers.
As another example of what sets a local hardware store apart from its competitors, Landers points to ‘Nuts & Bolts.’ The Scottdale location has had one of the largest and most complete selections of almost every variety of nuts and bolts. Customers have come from considerable distances for the ‘perfect match’ for their needs, according to Pater. Landers says he’ll continue that specialty, and actually expand and highlight it by moving those products closer to the front of the store. He also discussed continuing the store’s extensive selection of backyard grills—charcoal, gas and other variations, which have been an annual feature under the Pater banner.
Landers has been in the hardware business literally since high school, when he began working in the Bangor store. He started fulltime in 1979 and a year later was a partner in a family company that bought the store. He speaks fondly of his grandmother, Katherine Landers, who continued to work in the business until she was 95.
Landers has high praise for Pater’s hard work and determination in putting their deal together over many months. And he says the True Value chain took a strong interest in reopening the store and keeping it under the TV brand. “This is an important store to them, and they went the extra mile to help us make it possible,” he told us.
Landers says the next few weeks will be taken up by minor cosmetic changes in the store and by fully restocking the shelves and creating displays. He expects a ‘soft opening’ around December 1. He says there will not be an effort to gear up for the Christmas season, which seems to start earlier every year. Landers says a big promotional Grand Opening event will likely take place in the Spring, after all operational details have been ironed out.
He summed up our discussion this way: “We’re just thrilled to be a part of Scottdale and the St. Joe/Benton Harbor community. It’s all about the people!”
Headline photo: Joe Pater (former TVH owner0, Owen Hills (granson), Doug Landers (new TVH owner), Mark Hills 9General Manager, Landers Hardware Group)
