More than nuts and bolts – the heart of the town

Lori Kaye Lodes

Contributor

March 17, 2025

WHITEHALL – In a small town, a hardware store can serve not only as a destination for a variety of supplies but also as a community hub. 

Andrew Ritter said Ritter’s Ace Hardware in Whitehall definitely fits the bill.

Since he purchased the business in December 2021, Ritter said it has evolved to become part of the Ace Hardware cooperative, significantly increased its offerings, expanded its inventory of the items it carries and broadened its services. 

In the process, he said the store has become a community destination for more products and services than ever – whether that’s outdoor power equipment, a grill, parts for a plumbing issue, paint or a host or other reasons. 

Above all else, Ritter said he’s passionate about serving his hometown.

“I love hardware and what it means for small communities,” he said. “If a community loses (its hardware store), they don’t typically get it back. I am passionate about staying here and thriving here.”

A hard-earned hardware store

Ritter said the store’s story started when he worked for what was then known as Johnson Hardware & Rental from age 16-18, working under the tutelage of then-Owners Glen and Kathy Johnson. 

Along the way, Ritter said he built a relationship with the couple, and throughout the years, expressed potential interest in purchasing the business when the Johnsons were ready to retire. 

As that conversation ebbed and flowed, Ritter said he wasn’t sure anything would materialize.

Meanwhile, he said he went to work in the frac sand mining industry – which is known for its significant ups and downs.

“After going through several rounds of the business booming, then falling off, I was ready to get into something different, and happened to be in the store one day, talking to Glen about how I was just about ready to be done out there,” he said. “And he said, ‘We’re just about ready to be done in here.’”

After a few more conversations, Ritter said he became the store’s manager on Jan. 1, 2020, while they worked out the business’s purchase details. 

He said the Johnsons handed off a lot of knowledge and insights to him from that time until the purchase was finalized in December 2021, as Ritter acquired what had been a Hardware Hank-affiliated store.

Ritter said he had a long list of what he saw as opportunities to enhance the business and position it for a viable future – all while thoroughly respecting the store’s heritage. 

The store, he said, has a long history in the community of 1,765, having started in a downtown location in 1954, run by the Herrieds. 

They sold the business to the Millers in 1988, who moved the business from downtown to the edge of town in a brand-new building on Dewey Street, Ritter said. 

In 2010, Ritter said the Johnsons purchased the business and ran it until he assumed ownership in 2021.

Throughout the ownership transitions, Ritter said the hardware store changed affiliations from Hardware Hank to Coast-to-Coast and then, under his ownership, to Ace Hardware.
He said that process took about a year, with completion just before the end of 2023. 

Ritter said it was grueling at times, as the process entailed pulling out inventory from one supplier and inserting another’s, while creating entirely new departments and categories in the store.

But Ritter said it was worth every growing pain.

“I’m a firm believer in having things in stock, so our inventory level is about double what it was when I purchased the business,” he said. “Customer service is one of our biggest focuses. A lot of store owners look at inventory solely as a financial metric, whereas I think it’s one of the biggest impacts on customer service. If you don’t have (an item), you can’t help someone.”

Acing it

Ritter said becoming affiliated with Ace Hardware appealed to his reverence for consistency and accessibility.

Previously, he said he struggled to procure products or to do so in a timely manner. 

With the move to Ace, Ritter said the store went from working with a wholesale business of less than $200 million to a hardware distributor that does $10 billion in wholesale – a “staggering difference.”

“With Ace’s size, they are a priority to the companies they’re buying from,” he said. “In the past, we would place our order and items would sit out of stock for months. With Ace, our fill rate is in the upper 90%. And, when you have a company of that size buying in bigger volumes, they can negotiate better pricing.”

Ritter said the better pricing has trickled down to the store’s retail pricing as well.

“Our cost has come down on some goods, and that’s allowed our retail to come down as well,” he said.

Ritter said he greatly expanded the store’s power tools department, broadening what was a small selection of DeWalt and adding Milwaukee power tools. 

He said he has since expanded that section three times and added Craftsman to the mix with the transition to Ace Hardware. 

Ritter said he also amplified the outdoor power equipment selection from a few mowers and weed trimmers to becoming a STIHL dealer while also adding EGO lawn mowers and generally going “all in” on power.

“In a rural market like ours, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be offering that stuff,” he said. 

Ritter said he also added a large outdoor grilling and barbecue department, which features not only Weber but also Traeger and Blackstone. 

Collectively, he said the three new departments now comprise one-fourth to one-third of the store’s overall business. 

In addition, Ritter said the store sells fishing bait, offers power equipment repair and has become an authorized UPS service provider – complementing the FedEx service available next door at the Dollar General. 

“It works well for the community now to come in with their packages,” he said. “It’s one of those services that is a break-even for us, but it has attracted some people to the store who have come back.”
Collectively, Ritter said the new offerings have broadened the store’s draw physically (typically from within a 15-mile radius) as well as demographically.
“We pull the whole age group now,” he said. “We used to be more of a 45- to 50-year-old-plus customer base, but as we have added power tools and grills, we’ve definitely attracted more of the younger customer base as well. We’re a pretty blended demographic now, with kids coming in with their parents and finding me for their free suckers.”

The store’s team has grown as well, Ritter said, expanding from seven to 10 team members to accommodate not only sales but the store’s service offerings.

He said becoming affiliated with Ace Hardware has proven to be beneficial for his team as well, as he’s now able to offer health insurance through an Ace co-op (as they are owners of the company), retirement plan with match, vision and dental insurance and vacation.

“While these aren’t improvements customers see, I’m proud of these things as they are signs of our business growing and taking care of its people, too,” he said.

Ritter said all enhancements – whether customer-facing or employee-oriented – are made at his discretion, as another benefit of being an Ace Hardware store is his independent ownership and operation, extending to his product stocking decisions. 

“The advantages come in on the data that comes from Ace’s more than 5,000 stores nationwide and what sells very well, for example,” he said. “But, we can continue to have a hunting and fishing section that we buy from another vendor, animal feed for small farm customers and a big greenhouse in the spring with live plants.”

Springing ahead
Ritter said the store is presently ramping up for spring and all it brings with it, as April, May and June represent the business’s busiest time of the year. 

Where a normal day’s customer count numbers about 100, he said, during May, easily 400-500 customers per day will visit. 

“It explodes with the greenhouse season with all the live goods, soils, mulches and lawnmowers,” he said, “as everything starts to come alive.”

Though the store doesn’t specifically carry agricultural items, he said it does sell items valuable to farmers (e.g. bolts) that can help if their machinery breaks. 

This year, Ritter said he’s expanded the greenhouse from its 20-foot-by-30-foot size to 20 feet by 48 feet, as he’s working with a new supplier and ordering more plants than ever – which includes additional annuals, perennials, trees, bedding flowers, fruits, vegetables and more. 

Ritter said he was inspired to do so because the local greenhouse nearby closed, and he anticipates an even greater surge of customers seeking their goods at Ritter’s. 

“It’s a fun time of year at the store, because we’re so busy and everyone seems to be in a better mood (with spring on the way),” he said.

The seasonal rush comes along with the usual business, which Ritter said he refers to as “home preservation” – supplying regular items needed as part of everyday home maintenance and repair. 

All of the provision, he said, comes with Ritter’s Ace Hardware’s “great customer service” – a feature he perpetuates through Ace’s online training for new employees, as well as leading by example. 

“As with any culture, it starts at the top with me showing the level of customer service I want to be doing as a business and seeing it mirrored in our staff,” he said. “For example, if you’re over here doing stock and (a customer) comes into the aisle, you’re not stocking anymore. You’re helping them get what they need.”

Community support is an extension of that customer service orientation, as Ritter said he recognizes the need to support the customer because the community supports the store. 

To that end, he said the store sponsors many community events and activities, considering it a matter of investing time and talent in addition to treasure.

“I serve on the town volunteer fire department, and we show up to participate in the kids’ event during our town festival, for example…,” he said. “If you’re not from a small town, you won’t understand how it really does take everybody to make a small town work and that’s something we make a point of doing.”