Summer, 1986
The summer of 1986 found the Village of
Chittenango without a hardware store. Metcalf's Hardware had just closed after
70 plus years of doing business. Hoping to fill the void and begin new careers,
Norm
McGowan, his wife Ellen, Norm's daughter Debi Newton and husband Jim joined
together as equal shareholders. They formed McGowans Hardware Inc. and
affiliated with Ace Hardware Corporation, a dealer owned co-op based in
Oakbrook, IL. The Metcalf building was leased and an extensive remodel and clean
up began. One whole wall was removed to make a larger contiguous sales floor.
New, modern shelving replaced the old wooden shelves. Starting with four bare
walls, the new company began with a fresh coat of Ace Paint. The months of July
and August were a flurry of activity getting the new store ready for the Grand
Opening. Item selection had to be done in addition to the remodeling. The NYS
Retail Hardware Association helped with merchandising and McGowans Ace Hardware
hit the ground running in late August of '86.
Summer, 1992
With the village growing and traffic through the downtown area getting heavier by the day, the decision to relocate was made. Property was purchased about 1/2 mile to the east and the four owners began to design a new and larger store. Construction began in July of '92. The store was designed with a 72' free span by 102' wide. The front bays hold various bagged goods and livestock feed and are closed at the end of business hours. An additional area juts out from the back which has the office, receiving room, forklift storage, and service oriented work areas.
October 2007
Early
in 2007 we began to notice our affiliation with Ace Hardware was in a different
place than when we started 21 years ago. After serious deliberation we decided to
change our co-op arrangement and signed up with DoItBest out of Indiana. All the
behind the scenes work for change over began in ernest in early October of 2007.
A team of DoItBest people began the actual re- tagging of the store December 3rd
'07. The same quality employees and expert help will insure that McGowans
Hardware is still the place for our customers to get all their hardware
needs at the best prices around. In addition, our customers can shop for over 65,000
items online, and most of them can be delivered freight free for pick up right
at our store. Just click on this link and chose ship to store at checkout. 
Photo Gallery
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