The sun is setting on a pair of family-run hardware stores that have served Littleton and the mountain communities around Evergreen for decades.
Ted LaMontagne, owner of The Hardware, doesn’t mince words about why he is closing his store, which has been in business for 81 years in Evergreen.
“It just doesn’t make sense economically anymore, with Home Depot having moved into the area,” says LaMontagne, 66, who has owned the store for 28 years. “All the people started going there to buy … the more-expensive items that keep a store like this one in business.”
Dick Valore, however, said the big-box hardware chains didn’t influence his decision to close his third-generation business, Valore Hardware, in Littleton. His reason is simple – none of his sons wants it.
While the reasons differ, Evergreen and Littleton are losing two of their oldest businesses, hardware stores that have been there when a snow shovel was needed or when someone wanted tips on fixing a leaky faucet.
“It’s heartbreaking to see companies like this that have served generations of people in their communities close down,” said Nancy St. Pierre, a spokeswoman for the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
Despite the expansion of larger retail chains, a recent survey of 26 states, including Colorado, by the National Federation of Independent Businesses showed almost half of small-business owners reported strong sales. In Colorado, 44 percent of small-business owners were optimistic, the NFIB said.
When Home Depot came to the Littleton area in the late 1990s, Valore Hardware lost a lot of business. Eventually, Valore says, his customers returned.
And while Lowe’s Home Improvement Center also has its eye on opening a store in the Littleton area, Valore insists the competition hasn’t affected his decision.
Valore’s grandfather started Valore Hardware in 1917 at 2389 W. Main St., in downtown Littleton. The original store is now closed, and Valore expects to have liquidated his stock within a few weeks from a strip mall at 1210 Littleton Blvd.
Valore, 73, left a good-paying job as a rocket engineer for Boeing to take over the hardware store from his father in 1974.
“Running this hardware store was something I wanted to do since I was 5 years old,” Valore says. “None of my sons wants it. They’re making too good of money at their day jobs.”
LaMontagne decided to close two months ago. He hopes the store, housed in an old barn at 27965 Meadow Dr., will close within the next few weeks.
“I bought this store because I loved the idea of running a business in the community that I lived in,” says LaMontagne, who was once a banker in Denver.
LaMontagne recently sent letters to longtime customers thanking them for their loyalty.
“It’s sad,” said Bob Exon, 75, who’s been shopping at The Hardware for 35 years. “It’s the end of an era for Evergreen.”
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-820-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com
