Sad Day in Saint Paul

[twistsol]

Seven Corners Hardware in Saint Paul, MN announced that after 80 years they are closing. If you've never been there, it is an old fashioned two story hardware store that takes up the majority of a city block. At one time they boasted they had 10,000 power tools on display. I the 20 years I've been a customer, I can't think of a time when they didn't have on hand everything I needed. Finding it without an employee as a guide was another matter.

[eccentrictinkerer]

My wife called my attention to the story of 7 Corners Hardware closing last night on the news.

I have to be honest. It hit me right in the gut! Aisle after aisle of ten foot high metal racks filled with everything a handyman needs to fix just about anything.

Say you need some butt hinges. Here you can find them in 1/2" to 8", brass, brass-plated steel, stainless, brushed nickle, loose pin, fixed pin, slip hinge, it just goes on and on.

I took my wife into 7 Corners soon after we were married 47 years ago. She said that she now knew why I called it 'Valhalla'.

The store is, unfortunately, located in an old, but gentrifying neighborhood near downtown St. Paul and the Xcel Convention center and hockey arena. the 3rd-generation owner got an offer he couldn't refuse. Most likely going to be a luxury high-rise or hotel.

The guys who work there are 'old school' helpful and knowledgeable. They were patient with 'civilians' who came in looking for a 'thingamabobs' and widgets. And when I needed a blade for my kind of rare Panasonic metal-cutting cordless saw the guy walked right to the bin, picked it out and wrote me up.

Another unique thing about 7 Corners, you never got a cash register receipt! Everything was was written up longhand and totaled on a calculator. One of the guys even calculated the sales tax in his head!

If this sounds like a eulogy, it is. I visited 7 Corners several times a month for the last 13 years that I've been a handyman. I'll miss the guys, the conversations and, and most of all, the inventory.

Video Here

[JimD]

My experience is much more limited but I visited this place once while traveling on business (I had a little free time). I also believe I ordered a tool or two from them mail order. It was a great old-fashioned hardware store.

We've used the same realtor to sell and buy a house in last 12 months and her boyfriend is usually along. He is an interesting guy. He is pretty much retired after selling a much smaller but also old-fashioned hardware store that used to be in downtown Columbia, SC. I believe he indicated that the land their building was on was worth more than the business at the time he sold. A bank, I believe it was, wanted the spot. Their business went down big time when the big box stores went up. He isn't bitter and retains the old fashioned hardware store mentality. When we were looking at houses he would poke around and offer opinions about what it needed. We couldn't find the well on the one we bought and he looked tirelessly until he found it.