For the engineer or the creative do-it-yourselfer, this should be regarded as Diagon-ally from the…read moreHarry Potter storybooks/movies.
This shop has EVERY part, nut, bolt, washer, and coupler you will ever likely need. Their selection of steel and aluminum strips is more widely varied than you will find in any major hardware store. I cannot reasonably outline all the types of chain and rope they offer. Every time I go in looking for one thing, and usually finding it, albeit with help in many cases, I find still more stuff that I wish I had found years earlier, or worse still, had to fabricate because I could not find the doo-hicky anywhere, even on The Internet.
In addition to having all these resources for repairs and fabrications, they also sell a surprising amount of automotive supplies, from motor oil and transmission fluid, to headlight bulbs and even car batteries! On any given day there are at most three people working there and sometimes only one, but most of the time they will even offer to install your headlight bulb, which makes them stand out head and shoulders over most any hardware store you will ever find. For a place no larger than a typical CVS pharmacy, it appears to outperform most any corporate owned hardware store I've ever seen.
And don't assume it stops there either. The offer paint, light bulbs (incandescent, fluorescent, and LED), gutter supplies, about every plumbing fitting imaginable, downspouts, propane regulators and fittings, propane refills, rakes, shovels... the list goes on. It just seems impossible that a store so apparently small from the outside could offer such incredible variety on the inside. It's THE TARDIS, I tell you!
It doesn't even stop there. I need to mention the "help desk" aspect. There is barely a subject from plumbing to seat-of-your-pants fabrications that you cannot receive some degree of guidance regarding.
In addition they have a popcorn machine and they encourage their customers to take a bag of free popcorn with every visit, whether you buy something or not. I thought the Radio Shack battery club card was a smart draw. This stuff tastes considerably better than batteries.
Lastly, there's the eye candy. For the classic car enthusiast there's usually a classic car being restored IN THE STORE. I'm not sure how they do that, since I never see any of the work being done, but it is stored there, near the main entrance and shows a little improvement or change every time I come in. The cars he restores appear to primarily wind up being raffled off for some sort of benefit. I've never looked into winning one, but I certainly enjoy seeing these cars blossoming over time.
I rather regret not having posted this review three years ago when I first found the place, but to be fair I'd only scratched the surface. Now that they have helped me so many times with so many projects, I am a great deal more prepared to give it the type of review they deserve.