The Ace Hardware in Greensburg has closed after a decade on East Pittsburgh Street.
Sales plummeted when the coronavirus pandemic hit and lockdowns were put in place, said owner John McCullough, owner of New Kensington-based Thrift Supply.
“We’ve just seen our customer base drop, and our business drop, and we found it difficult economically to succeed,” he said.
Competing with big-box stores and online shopping was already difficult, and the pandemic was the final blow, McCullough said.
Monday was the store’s last day in business.
“It was Cyber Monday,” McCullough said. “Appropriate, right?”
The store’s seven employees — four full-time and three part-time — were laid off.
Thrift Supply, which was founded in 1963, joined Ace Hardware in 1997. It has three locations in the region: Delmont, New Kensington and Kittanning. McCullough encourages Greensburg customers to visit the Delmont store.
“For 10 years, we’ve really had a nice customer base here, people have been great to us,” he said.
The Greensburg store opened in 2010. McCullough bought the building from Soxman Rent-All, an equipment rental company, for $160,000, according to county property records.
The building was originally a Nash car dealership, according to McCullough.
An online directory shows that an O. C. Harrold Nash delearship occupied the property from 1936-56.
McCullough hopes to lease the building. There are several potential tenants, though it is too early to announce any details, he said.
“There will be somebody occupying the building going forward,” he said.
