[Hardware] New Prairie Side Ace Hardware store open for business on the south side

[#Drennn.]

ary Dickes’ dream of a bigger, more comprehensive hardware store came to fruition Friday morning during a soft opening of a new Prairie Side Ace Hardware. The new store is more than 19,000 square feet and is nearly twice as big as its former South Side location, just two blocks away. Constructed with local contractors, Prairie Side, 3505 80th St., has more than 30,000 items including many new lines of merchandise it never carried in his previous location. The new Ace Hardware is in a growing commercial area that includes a shopping plaza, Chase Bank, Atlas Gym, CubeSmart Self Storage, a Festival Foods supermarket and a Dollar Tree store. A North Shore Bank branch is under construction. The new store has a patio for outdoor merchandise, a lumber section with a selection for DIY-ers who want to make some small household repairs, plumbing, electrical, and hardware merchandise, housewares, sporting goods and a toy section. There is a wider selection of recognizable brands, including Weber and Big Green Egg outdoor equipment, plus high-end Milwaukee brand power tools. Dickes plans to add more within the next few months. The old Ace Hardware at 3755 80th St., will remain open while merchandise is relocated. During the pandemic, Dickes realized that online orders would become a bigger feature for customers. “We were getting 10-15 orders a day,” he said. The new Prairie Side is equipped to handle more orders for curbside pickup and delivery.”

We have certain brands that are unique to us,” said Dickes. He said he collaborated with Benjamin Moore because he said it offer a quality product that would appeal to professional paint contractors. Realizing his dreams Dickes, a former aerospace engineer, said he always wanted to own a hardware store. He kept adding merchandise to his original business, which has been in that location for the past 10 years – eight of them as a TruValue hardware store. He began thinking of expanding two years ago, under the Ace banner. He first thought of opening a second store, but considered the new location when he realized that the former Chase Bank drive-through was on the market. “We had the happy problem of outgrowing our space,” he said of the former location. “I thought there’s a piece of ground that opened up right at my doorstep.” Considering how the COVID-19 pandemic had affected some local businesses, Dickes wanted to use local contractors to build the new facility. “We hired our neighbors,” he said. Partners in Design drew up the plans and Bane-Nelson was the primary contractor. Others included Hoffman Glass, Krekling Painting & Decorating, RIC Electric, JC Building Systems, Butler Building, Dickow Cyzak, Lee Mechanical, Metrolite Signs and Postorino Construction Finishes.

The furniture was purchased from B&L Furniture, a company that saw its 60th Street location damaged during the civil unrest, and has since relocated to 7600 75th St.