Granite Falls hardware store owner stocks up for a hard winter

There is a nonscientific way to predict if we’ll face a brrr-cold winter this year. Dan Meeks, who owns Ace Hardware in Granite Falls, has tucked away 150 extra snow shovels, an array of sleds and gallons of ice-melting products.

He listens closely when older customers, savvy about impending ice and sleet, share their insights.

Then he places his order.

“Running a hardware store is like owning a casino,” he said. “You flip a coin to see if you should stock up on winter goods. You don’t want snow shovels selling half-off in April.”

If someone wants the weather or town scoop, stop by and chitchat with regular customers who come in to just say “Hi,” shoot the breeze, and maybe buy bullets, paint or bolts.

His building has been a hub in town for more than a century. It was built in the 1800s, Meeks said, as a burlesque hall, then a movie theater and since the 1920s, a hardware store.

When Meeks, 51, bought the store at 108 S. Granite Ave. in 1996 he brought in some ready-made customers. He owned Curbs Plus Concrete for 25 years and dissolved the business little more than a year ago.

“I got out in the nick of time.”

He got wind a couple of years back that Ace was coming to Granite Falls. Meeks worked his charm and persuaded its corporate office that his store could be converted. His was the first existing store that became an Ace in this country in eight years, he said.

“It saved the store. We have more products, better pricing,” he said. “The consumer wins, and so do I.”

Some ways of doing business stayed the same. Folks can still buy one or two nails from huge bins. Ace wanted nails sold in larger quantities.

“I stayed firm,” Meeks said. “If a customer wants three or four nails, why buy a $6 box?”

Customers, friends really, took Meeks hunting in mid-October. He said he hadn’t tromped through woods with a gun for 15 years. He said he saw two squirrels and a woodpecker.

He owes a lot to guns and ammunition, a big part of his livelihood.

“I sold 400 handguns last year. I’ve sold as many as 14 on a weekend. When the economy goes down, gun sales go up.”

Tim Cross of Granite Falls shops at Ace Hardware.

“I buy guns, ammo and home improvement items here,” Cross said. “He’s got it all. If he doesn’t, he’ll get it.”

A woman came into the store who needed to get a hand crank repaired on her travel trailer.

“I could have sold her a $60 new crank,” Meeks said. “I sold her a 27-cent pin and fixed it for her. I like to fix stuff.”

The Arlington man said he lives in the largest duplex in Washington. It’s 7,300 square feet, one floor, on 5 acres.

“My in-laws live next door,” he said. “I like everyone close.”

Born in Monterey County, Calif., his father was in sales and his mother was a housewife. They both died in 2002 of cancer. His wife Becky survived breast cancer but now has bone cancer. The couple have two daughters and two grandchildren.

He participates in the Susan G. Komen Three-Day for a Cure every year with the motor safety group. Meeks rides his black Harley, covered with stuffed pink pigs, that he gives away.

“I wear a pink bra on the last day.”

To raise money for cancer research, the upstairs at the hardware store is loaded with used clothing. Folks bring in castaways and he sells donated items for a quarter.

At the back of the store, Meeks welcomes neighborhood kids who scoot in to work on their bikes.

“Some don’t have a dad,” he said. “I say as long as the tools stay in the box, they can come in.”

If a child needs a crescent wrench, Meeks will take one off the shelf.

Upstairs there is a ghost —Emily— said to be a burlesque dancer found dead in 1912.

“She makes her presence known,” Meeks said.

There are about 50 antique Coleman lanterns hanging over one aisle, next to vintage five-quart oil cans. The worn wooden-slat floor gets oiled every two years or so.

“I’m known as the friendliest store with the squeakiest floor.”

Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com.