Ace Hardware to move, expand

Staff report

Gone will be the sound of wooden floorboards creaking under your feet as you seek out a certain type of screw.

Don’s Ace Hardware is leaving the historic Square for good in 2019, owner Andy Harland announced Aug. 8.

But the good news is that taking over the former Shopko Hometown building will allow Ace to greatly expand goods and services in Jefferson.

Harland is purchasing the former Shopko building on North Elm Street, and is expected to take possession in January. After that, a number of building improvements are planned, Harland said.

The business will reopen as Jefferson Ace Hardware.

The current building, on the east side of the Square at the corner of Chestnut and State streets, will be for sale.

The building recently underwent a facade renovation as part of a $1 million Community Development Block Grant project. In all, 13 buildings were involved in the CDBG work.

It’s one of the newer buildings on the Square, having been built in 1937, and it’s apparently been a hardware store the entire time.

It previously was known as Joen’s Hardware, Dick’s and Jim’s Hardware, and Don’s True Value.