Venerable Hopewell hard goods store is closing.
By: George Spohr
Taking a step into J.B. Hill & Sons’ hardware store is like taking a step back in time.
But the Hopewell store’s days as a time warp soon will be no more. The store’s owner, Joe Hill II, said the business that bears his name will close within the next few weeks. There’s no specific closing date.
Mr. Hill, whose 128-year-old store on Railroad Place has become a community staple, said that the store’s closing is the result of two factors: Wanting to settle the family’s estate and caving to pressures from ‘big-box’ stores such as Wal-Mart.
The introduction of big-box stores to the region’s retail scene is partially to blame for the company’s annual revenues dropping from about $1 million per year to $300,000 per year.
"That’s part of it, and there’s some other factors," Mr. Hill explained. "We went out of selling certain things. We were in the lumber business, and we pulled back on that and ran it as a country hardware store."
Mr. Hill’s sister, who died last year, had been a co-owner of the building and the land on which it sits. "So I had to settle up the estate, she had a son, and I didn’t want to buy him out," Mr. Hill said. "That’s enough of a reason right there" to choose to close the business.
The store employs five, down from eight at the company’s heyday. Many of the employees are part-timers.
Until the store officially closes, its inventory of hardware supplies and outdoor equipment will be on sale.
"We’ve had inquiries from somebody who wants to keep it the way it is, and then people that want to do other things," Mr. Hill said. Regardless of who takes over the building, the store’s closing is final and the J.B. Hill’s name is going with it. "We’re going to be out of it entirely," he said.
The closing is bittersweet for the family, Mr. Hill said. "My son, who has been running the store, is going to North Carolina and he wants to go. There are no problems. I’ve always told them, ‘Don’t stay there for me.’
"It’s just been a long run," he said. "It’s been in the family for so long."