YOUR WEEKLY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SERVING CHELSEA, HUDSON YARDS & HELL’S KITCHEN
SHOP THAT MOM-AND-POP: NOV. 26 IS SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY
Photos by Dusica Sue Malesevic
Pictured: Mark Berger, whose grandfather, Sam Kove, founded Kove Brothers Hardware in 1920.
Jeff Sinsley, left, helped his cousin, Nathaniel Garber Schoen, right, set up Village-based Garber Hardware’s Chelsea location.
Longtime Local Hardware Stores Hammer Out Paths To Success BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC When it comes to news stories about mom-and-pop stores, it’s usually about them closing due to astronomical rent hikes. But two longtime, family-owned hardware stores are not just surviving — they are thriving. “There’s hope. Not every business in this city is going to close,” Nathaniel Garber Schoen told Chelsea Now. Schoen recently spearheaded a second location in Chelsea for his family’s business — Garber Hardware — at 207A Ninth Ave. Located between W. 22nd and W. 23rd Sts., the new store took over what was once home to Alan’s Alley Video. Nathan Garber and his father started dealing in hardware goods — likely out of a pushcart — and established the business in 1884, Schoen explained. For 100 years, Garber Hardware was located at 49 Eighth Ave. at Horatio St. in the West Village, he said. In 2003, the store moved to its current location at
710 Greenwich St. because “it was time,” Schoen said. “It was about long-term success.” He explained that you think about a longtime business differently — you have to consider how the sixth generation will run it. The 2003 move gave Schoen both the experience and confidence to scout for another location. “A second store is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” he said. Schoen had considered a location in Jersey City five years ago, but ultimately decided to pass. A regular recipient of flyers from real estate brokers, he saw the listing for the space on Ninth Ave. in Chelsea and was attracted to the spot due to its size, location, and potential. Garber Hardware’s second location opened toward the end of July, the beginning of August, Schoen said. Schoen spent weekends and summers while he was growing up at the West Village store, which his father
© CHELSEA NOW 2016 | NYC COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
and uncle currently run, he said. “We all have a hand in just about everything,” he noted, referring to the members of his family. Jeff Sinsley, Schoen’s cousin, helped him set up the new Chelsea location. The two stores differ in size (the West Village location is three times the about 2,000-square-foot Chelsea one), but both pride themselves on having a wide selection of products — tools, paint and painting supplies, housewares, nuts and bolts, among other things. “We’ve always been a bit more — the kind of stuff you can find here,” said Schoen, who says he spends a lot of time thinking about products for the store. Garber Hardware also has horseshoes, growlers for beer, shaving kits with a selection of old-school brushes, and a singular selection of books — including titles like “The Maker’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse,” HARDWARE continued on p. 12 VOLUME 08, ISSUE 47 | NOVEMBER 24 - 30, 2016