ACO Hardware Celebrates Expansion With Grand Re-Opening

Huggies diapers, greeting cards and yes, even sheets for your bed are among the items neatly lining the shelves at the re-vamped ACO Hardware Store in Macomb Township. The grand re-opening of the 21 Mile and Garfield location had more than 100 people in line at 8 a.m., most eager to see the expansion while taking advantage of prize drawings and sale prices.

Store Manager Tim Kroll, of Lapeer, said the ACO remained open during the six-month renovation. Now expanded into three businesses that closed, their new digs fill 1,800 square feet.

“Everything went really smooth and there was a lot of excitement about the expansion from customers who were just happy that we were staying open and not closing,” Kroll said.

A larger shopping space also meant adding several new employees, which brings Kroll’s staff at the Macomb Township store to 15. That crew, along with workers from other ACO stores around town, helped service the crowd for the special event.

In addition, Detroit radio personality Chris Edmonds, from Magic 105.1 (WMGC -FM),  was broadcasting live from the store for several hours, giving away lots of prizes.

The Salamone family, of Macomb, enjoyed free popcorn and balloons while checking out bargains. They were also feeling quite lucky when not once, but twice, their name blared over the loud speaker awarding them a pair of prizes–a Disney movie and fertilizer spreader.

“Wow, we won again,“ said Maria Salamone, while complimenting the store‘s new look. “It’s nice, I really like that it’s very open. I come in here all the time anyway so I just had to come and get these bins that are on sale for $2.99.”

Dubbing the re-opening “our store of the future,” Kroll said the goal is to address the needs of customers while also appealing to a new clientele.

“We’re not just for male shoppers," Kroll said. "We want to have female shoppers stopping in, too, and so we’ve added lots of home décor like pictures and clocks and really spread out our patio furniture area, too."

Amid adding new products, they’ve also trimmed past merchandise lines like canned goods, condiments and packaged foods. In their place, a huge wall at the front of the store displays lots of candy and packaged snacks.

“People always like to have candy so we switched to that line last fall,” Kroll said. “And we still have our Sanders bumpy cakes and Sanders hot fudge, those are some of our staple products that we are known for and have had here for quite awhile.”

A steady stream of old and new customers continued through the day.

“We have been here before but had to come in for the grand re-opening to see how big it got,” said Judy Garcia, of Macomb, clutching a her free roll of landscape fabric. “It’s really nice.”

She and her husband, Lou Garcia ran into their friends, Leonard and Sandy Ross, also of Macomb, as they checked out unusual items like the “Cuddles Youth Slippers” on sale for $5.99.

“Shopping here is a lot nicer because it is smaller than the other stores and it’s easier because it’s just in and out,” Sandy Ross said.

An advertising flyer touting the grand re-opening boasts plenty of bargains like a four-pack of light bulbs for 88 cents and single rolls of Fiesta paper towel, two for a $1, but the best part is that sales will continue through Thursday, April 21.