I just want to give a shout-out to Crown Hardware, located on Balboa Street, near the corner of 37th Avenue, here in San Francisco’s Richmond District.
In an era of Home Depot’s and Lowe’s, it’s nice to see there’s still room for the existence of a local hardware store.
The biggest difference a local shop has is customer service.
First, since the store is small — Crown actually has a second location not more than a block away, for keys and security type of stuff — they cram a lot of stuff, and I mean a LOT! Thus, it’s almost imperative to speak to one of the staff persons, who will gladly find what you’re looking for.
It’s a great feeling of satisfaction to walk out of the store with the items that someone actually took the time to help retrieve (and even explain).
Here’s to local hardware stores!