Hamline Hardware owner Jim Gildner helps local businessman Gary Carlson find the right fastener at the St. Paul store on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. Opened in 1926, Jim and Jan Gildner have owned the Midway neighborhood mainstay since 2010, taking over from the original owners. The Gildners are retiring and the hardware store will be closing its doors at the end of March. Carlson, who owns the building next door, likens the store to having his own parts warehouse. "They are always so friendly and helpful," he said. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Opened in 1926, Hamline Hardware in St. Paul will be closing its doors at the end of March. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Midway neighborhood residents Tara Meade and Brian Crew shop for home repair items. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

The last full-time employee of Hamline Hardware, Walt Eubanks, dismantles shelves as he consolidates displays. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Hamline Hardware owner Jim Gildner puts up a sign advertising 30 percent off fasteners. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)



Banners hang from the ceiling. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Hamline Hardware owner Jim Gildner at the store in St. Paul on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. "I started my hardware career picking up and delivering lawnmowers, setting up bicycles and wheel barrows and that's how I'm ending my career," said Gildner about his 54 years in the hardware business. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A hardware store opened up at the corner of Englewood and Snelling avenues in St. Paul’s Midway community 94 years ago. Those who regularly shopped there knew its cluttered layout well.

In need of hammers? Go to aisle 15.

Screws and bolts? Aisle 7.

Putty knives? Aisle 2.

What to do with them all? Talk to the owner.

With just less than a month remaining until the store at 755 N. Snelling closes and owners Jim and Jan Gildner retire, a strange emptiness now bounces off the walls. Many items have already been sold out; those still in stock wear a pink tag that reads: “Sale.”

After 54 years in the hardware industry, Jim Gildner has decided to call it quits.

A LIFE IN THE BUSINESS

“I call myself a lifer in the hardware industry,” Gildner said.

The places he has worked reads like a who’s who of hardware shops. Originally from Minnetonka, he made career stops at a Coast to Coast Hardware Store; Trustworthy Hardware; Farwell, Ozmun, Kirk and Co., hardware wholesalers; and Warner Hardware, where he eventually became store manager.

More recently, Gildner spent 25 years working for United Hardware Distributing Co., a franchiser of Hardware Hank outlets. His primary job involved facilitating the sale of hardware stores in a number of states.

After years of helping others become hardware store owners, he and his family wanted to take their own shot. There was something about that customer connection, helping someone find the right tool or home supply.

“There is always a need for someone to help people through their projects,” Gildner said.

In 2010, they got their chance.

A FIXTURE IN THE COMMUNITY

It was 1926 when the Hagen family opened a hardware store along Snelling Avenue and ran it for decades.

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Wild trade Eric Staal to Sabres for Marcus Johansson With a massive paint can jutting out from the brick building’s roof, the Hamline Hardware Hank store became an institution in the neighborhood. Not only was it situated along busy Snelling Avenue, but the store was also located near Hamline University and within St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood with plenty of homes — and potential customers.

The Gildners decided to pull the trigger. They bought the store to run themselves.

“I’m very thankful we had the opportunity to own and operate the store in this area,” he said.

MAKING THEIR MARK

The Gildners were fixtures in the store once they took over.

Jan Gildner serves as the office manager. She takes calls, works the cash register and manages the upkeep of the store.

Jim Gildner is customer relations. He primarily advises customers on their hardware needs, answering questions about tools and other items at his desk in the back of the store.

Gildner said he couldn’t make changes fast enough once he got the keys to the location. They changed the layout of the store, increased the height and placement of the fixtures, added more categories of merchandise and more services.

One key change was starting a tool and equipment rental service. “No one in this immediate area has been doing them,” he said.

PIECE OF NEIGHBORHOOD’S HISTORY

It will be hard to say goodbye to a neighborhood fixture for some 94 years, say store regulars.

“You get that community sense when you walk through the door. You’re not just a number or an invoice,” Stuart Smith said while shopping inside the Hardware Hank recently. He has been a regular for more than 20 years.

Smith lives a couple of blocks from the store and gets his lawnmower serviced there every year. Inside the store, Smith has bought everything from nails to Gorilla Glue for his projects around the house.

“I will miss the people,” Gildner said. “There are wonderful people in this area (who have been) very supportive of this store.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR LOCATION

Although the store has been for sale for three years, the Gildners have not found a buyer. The biggest hurdle, according to Gildner, is “the inability to own the building.” He leased the location from the Hagens.

As big-box competition like Menards and Lowe’s continue to pop up, Gildner doesn’t expect smaller stores like Hamline Hardware Hank to completely fade away any time soon.

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St. Paul poised to redraw residential zoning rules near major public transit “There’s always room for a good hardware store,” he said. “It’s not going to go away entirely.”

The current building owners, brothers David and Michael Hagen, appreciate the location’s history.

“We would absolutely love to have another hardware store there, ” David Hagen said. “The hardware store is so important to the community. … It would be great for the neighborhood.”