Jay sends along this link to this great Huffington Post article featuring Intown Ace Hardware that details how the store has succeeded in the “shadow” of Home Depot on Lawrenceville Hwy and their plans for the impending Suburban Plaza Walmart.  Here’s a taste…

Then, Home Depot arrived.

“We were right in their shadow,” said the 59-year-old [Dave] Jones, who co-owns Intown Ace Hardware with Tony Powers. The giant retailer moved in less than two miles away in 1995 and was selling acres of all the same items that the mid-sized Intown was selling — for a little less. Intown’s sales took a hit. “When they started, we were doing a mini version,” Jones said.

But what happened next serves as a lesson for any mom-and-pop shop out there living in fear of the day Big Box comes to town.

Check out this most excellent article on Saporta Report by Decatur-based freelance writer Michelle Hiskey about how Intown Ace Hardware plans to adapt to a commercial landscape with a Walmart just around the corner at Suburban Plaza.  Here’s a snippet…

Across the road from the planned development, Tony Powers keeps the keen eye and taste that has made his family business – Intown Ace Hardware – survive and succeed. As the world gets more homogeneous, his answer is a more diverse identity.

“I never thought I would have a hardware store with two lines of perfume and seven lines of organic candles,” he said. “Costume jewelry is also hot. I never thought this would be who we are.”

Photo courtesy of Intown Ace Hardware’s website