Oakland City Wire

America's most celebrated "helpful place" in Oakland is celebrating a grand re-opening and 101st anniversary this weekend.

Located at 4024 MacArthur Blvd. in Oakland, Laurel Ace Hardware brings the company's unique blend of personal, knowledgeable, and helpful service paired with quality home maintenance expertise and products to Oakland residents. Standard hours of operation are Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The store originally opened in 1921 on the same street but in a different location, according to Laurel Ace Hardware owner Michelle Leopold. The original store owners sold the store to new owners, who in turn sold it to Leopold in 2017, which makes her the location's third owner. The store's 100th year anniversary was last year, but due to reasons related to COVID-19, Leopold could not host an anniversary party then. She decided to do the next best thing and hold a 101st-anniversary party this year instead. 

For its anniversary, the store will throw a "Laurel Ace Grows Up" party to celebrate the opening of its second floor to customers. 

"It's a two-story building, and the second floor was all storage up until recently," Leopold said. "During the past couple of months, we cleared out all of the back stock, put shelves up there, and opened up the second floor for retail space. We literally doubled our size ... [On] Oct. 28th, 29th, and 30th, we are doing a 'Laurel Ace Grows Up' party. It's a celebration to tell the customers that we've opened up the second floor for them and to say, 'Hey, we've been here for a hundred years and we're not going anywhere. We are going to keep investing in the neighborhood.'"

All weekend long, there will be freebies and giveaways plus 101st birthday cupcakes. The store will offer Milwaukee Power Tool demos and freebies on Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Weber Grill tips and sampling on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. On Sunday, there will be Green Mountain grill tips and sampling from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and a fall pollinator event and integrated pest management tips from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Laurel Ace Hardware was designed to reflect the needs of the local community, in addition to offering products and services customers have come to expect from a full-service Ace store. These include solutions to everyday home maintenance needs, as well as an extensive array of high-quality products in categories such as paint, lawn and garden, housewares, hand and power tools, plumbing, hardware, electrical, cleaning, automotive, and outdoor living. Laurel Ace Hardware also focuses on providing expert specialty services in paint color matching, key cutting, delivery, and assembly.

The store is packed with thousands of essential products and supplies, including some of the most respected brand names and best-selling items to help people take care of their homes. Key store focuses and product offerings include brands such as Traeger, Weber, Toro, EGO, YETI, Magnolia Home, Big Green Egg, Scotts, and many more.

For more information, visit Laurel Ace Hardware's Facebook page or website.

Ace Hardware is the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world, with more than 5,600 locally-owned and -operated hardware stores in approximately 70 countries. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, Ace and its subsidiaries operate an expansive network of distribution centers in the U.S. and have distribution capabilities in China, Panama, and the United Arab Emirates.

Since 1924, Ace has become a part of local communities around the world and is known as "the place with the helpful hardware folks." For more information, visit AceHardware.com or Newsroom.AceHardware.com.