Randy’s Hardware reopens

AFTER A DEVASTATING FIRE, A SHENANDOAH VALLEY HARDWARE STORE, AND COMMUNITY, OVERCOMES ALL.

By Tim Burke

One year ago — February 26, 2022, to be exact — the nightmare of every small business retailer happened.

An overnight fire took out a hardware store in the Shenandoah Valley. It had stood for 70 years.

The combination of a hardware store’s own strong team along with a determined community brought it right back in three months.

“We re-opened last June,” said Christian Herrick, CEO and co-owner with owner Randy Andes, of Randy’s Do it Best Hardware in Mt. Jackson, Virginia. “It was a fantastic feeling to be back.”

Recently, Randy’s hosted an event at their new location in town, to show appreciation to the community for their continued support of the store.

Several hundred people came out to be part of the celebration.

Being back in business again gave pause to reflect.

“Coming back feels like a different type of accomplishment,” said Herrick. “We’re resilient. And we’re proud of our community, our Do it Best team, and our colleagues and team members.”

The fire had taken away a business — but then brought people together.

After confirming that everyone was safe on that fateful night, the leadership team immediately began making plans to rebuild, committing their time and effort to maintaining the store’s legacy.

Loyal customers informed Randy’s team about a local grocery store that was closing, and the team transformed the former grocery store into a bigger hardware store than the one they lost.

“This store is bigger than the old location,” said the co-owner. “It’s in a better spot too. And we have more transactions now.”

The store team has been bringing in new items too.

“We’ve added Knipex pliers; they are becoming popular,” said Herrick. “We’ve also added the Milwaukee Tool Packout modular storage system for holding power tools and accessories. It’s wildly successful.”

Besides the bigger, better feeling of the new store, the CEO is most proud of the supportive nature of the community, and that also includes other retailers. “Fellow business owners lent us warehouse space,” he said, during their transition.

“The hardware store is part of the heart of the community,” he said. “And that’s very special.”