The Ace Hardware store on East 22nd Street west of South Kolb Road is not your typical neighborhood hardware store.
Not only is it bigger than most — with three storefronts sprawling across a city block — but it’s one of the oldest in the West and a throwback to the general store, where you can buy a couple of nuts and bolts and while you’re there, shop for a new frypan and pick up a gift for your kid’s birthday.
If you think that’s pretty cool, you’re not alone. Ace Hardware Corp., recently named the store at 6959 E. 22nd St., one of Ace’s “Coolest Hardware Stores” for 2016.
Ace Hardware, which bills itself as the world’s largest hardware cooperative, picks a handful of Ace stores annually to receive the “Coolest” label, based “on how each Ace store differentiates its product offerings, services and culture to meet the needs of the community.”
The 22nd Street Ace store, one of about 30 Aces in greater Tucson, dates back to 1962 when Joe and Toni Findysz opened the business as the first Ace Hardware located west of the Mississippi River.
Today, the store is still run by the same family, led by owners Joe and Kelly Findysz, who also own five other local Ace stores.
“It’s a great reward for all the employees and the family, for their hard work,” Joe Findysz said of the “Coolest Store” award.
Findysz, 55, spent much of his childhood hanging around the store before working there and eventually taking its reins. He said the store grew over the years as his father expanded into new offerings, some to fill a void created when other local specialty shops closed.
“We look for things, like the hobby shops and train shops, that are going away,” he said,
The store added its hobby shop several years ago and built an extensive stock of trains after local train shops closed and hobby shops shifted their focus to remote-controlled planes.
A few years ago, the Findysz family bought out a tool-sharpening business that was closing and set up its own sharpening operation in a back area.
Findysz said the huge housewares department began as a separate store up the road, run by his mother, before being absorbed into the main Ace store.
He noted that the store also supports area artisans, carrying locally-made items including desert-themed ceramic switchplates and decorative tiles, flag plaques made by a local veteran, as well as local honey and other food items.
The store has many longtime employees, and some customers who have been shopping there since it opened, Findysz said.
Bryan Gay said he’s been shopping at the 22nd Street Ace since he moved to the area in 1973.
“It’s the best and biggest,” said Gay, a maintenance worker, as he browsed the small power-tool section on Thursday.
“It’s got everything that I need — I’ve been to other Aces and whatnot, but they don’t have the variety and selection,” he said, adding that he finds the prices competitive or sometimes cheaper than at big-box retailers.
John Francen, a retired cabinetmaker, traveled to the East 22nd Street Ace on Thursday from his home on West Speedway to shop for some plumbing supplies.
Francen said other hardware stores closer to home are fairly well-stocked, but the 22nd Street Ace rarely disappoints.
“All and all, I can pretty much find what I need here, they have such a variety,” Francen said. “But I come here for one thing and I usually buy four or five.”
The East 22nd Street Ace and three other “Coolest Hardware Stores” were honored at the 2016 Ace Hardware Fall Convention & Exhibits, Aug. 18-20 in Chicago.
Find a video about the 22nd Street store at: d.pr/v/OXwz.
FIVE COOL THINGS
1 Trains, planes and automobiles. The store’s 7,000-square-foot hobby shop boasts a custom-built train setup that serves as the register area, along with an extensive selection of toy trains, plastic model kits and nostalgia wood toys and signs. The store also houses two antique Model T Ford trucks, used as displays.
2 Food. The large housewares department offers locally-made products, including canned salsa and themed pasta for the University of Arizona. The store also features a fully functional kitchen that serves as a demonstration area for houseware products and gadgets.
3 Critters. Want to try your hand at raising chickens? You can get chicks, equipment, feed and advice at the 22nd Street Ace.
4 Nuts and woodworks. Besides basic hardware, the store has an extensive fasteners department with drawers of loose nuts, bolts and such. The fasteners are housed in a finely finished, aisle-long wood case made in the store’s own woodshop, which also makes custom cabinets.
5 Fix-it. Lawnmower or weed-whacker on the fritz? You can get a fix at the store’s full-service small engine repair shop, or get your tools sharpened on-site.
