James Cook was 16 years old when his shop teacher at Napavine High School told him that the local hardware store was looking for help.
Cook applied, was hired by owner John Sweeny, and worked 4 1/2 years at Sweeny’s Ace Hardware store, where he learned from the boss to go above and beyond to serve their customers. He eventually went off to WSU Pullman, earned a business degree, and took on management work in the lumber and HVAC fields near Vancouver, Washington.
Last summer, he came full circle when he purchased the Napavine Ace Hardware store from his former boss. He’s looking forward to giving back to the community that raised him. And so Cook, now 33, his wife and their 3-year-old son (whose preferred position is inside a wheelbarrow) are revitalizing a beloved business pillar of his hometown.
The new owners of the Napavine Ace Hardware will host a grand opening celebration on Saturday, March 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. I’m told there will be a taco truck. Whether or not you’re a longtime customer of the hilltop hardware store, I’d recommend stopping by this thriving example of small-town commerce. It’s something to be enjoyed, encouraged and supported.
The store is still chock-full of handy goods for your home, and the long-empty greenhouses are now bursting with gorgeous spring greenery. If you want flowers, trees, shrubs, grasses, hanging baskets or just about anything else from your garden or home, they’ve got ‘em.
Cook said he recognizes many customers from the years he spent working in the store half of his lifetime ago — although now, the kids he saw coming in with their grandparents are coming in with kids of their own.
I asked Cook how a small local hardware store can survive and thrive in the age of online purchases and big box stores.
“We're not going to capture all the market share,” Cook said. “It's really about taking care of our customers with a service level that can’t be found anywhere else.”
He said that as a teenager he learned from owner John Sweeny the importance of going above and beyond with superior customer service.
“As I moved on in the world and realized that not everybody went above and beyond for their customers like Mr. Sweeney did, it made me have a bigger appreciation for the type of service he offered,” Cook said.
He intends to keep that up and even take it beyond the walls of the store, saying he is willing to visit townsfolk in their homes to help evaluate their needs and how to meet them.
As I spoke with Cook and his greenhouse manager, longtime horticulturist Greg Moore, on a recent rainy morning, who should walk into the store but former owner John Sweeny himself. He told us he opened the hardware store on Dec. 15, 1997, building it up from scratch in a building that had been home to a bar and a small liquor store.
At 73 and now retired after selling his store, Sweeny is relaxed and thrilled to see his old store entering a fresh era of growth under energetic young ownership. It was time for a new generation, he said.
“The change is great,” Sweeny said. “I’m all for it. I’m so happy to have someone take some interest in what I did, moving it on down the road to make something out of it. Good things for Napavine.”
Dad joke of the week
This Saturday is March 14, or 3-14, celebrated around the world as Pi Day. (As a reminder for those of us long past high school: Pi, approximated as 3.14, is the ratio of a circle’s radius to the distance around it, also known as the circumference.)
That brings to mind a beautifully nonsensical comment by my eldest son many years ago: “If you have to be a cumference, be Sir Cumference."
Happy Pi Day to all who celebrate! Have a slice of pie for me, perchance.
Brian Mittge is a community enthusiast who has written for The Chronicle since 2000 as a reporter, editor and columnist. He can be reached at brianmittge@hotmail.com.
