LA GRANDE — Ace Hardware will be expanding into its current building and subleasing space to La Grande Gold and Silver.

Owners Scott and Diana Thatcher were approached by their landlord, real estate management firm Carrington Company, of Eureka, California, and offered a new lease proposal that expands their space at the La Grande Town Center, 2212 Island Ave., including the two adjacent store spaces and all the unoccupied areas in the rear of the building.

“Those two stores only go back 40 feet and behind them is a big empty space that the landlord wanted to rent out,” Scott Thatcher said. “They knew that when they did that, the leases with the businesses in front would end, so they offered it to me first,” Scott Thatcher said.

It was good timing for the Thatchers because their business was thriving and they needed more room. Scott Thatcher said that at times, they had to redirect customers elsewhere when the product they wanted wasn’t at their store. So, Carrington’s offer to lease more space in their current building was the perfect fix.

“When Carrington came forward with their offer, we talked numbers and we thought the numbers were fair, so we pursued it,” he said. “We signed the lease on Feb. 1.”

The tenants, Capelli Hair Salon and La Grande Gold and Silver, would both be impacted by Carrington’s plans.

“It’s either me leasing it or it would be someone else,” Thatcher said.

As a result, Capelli Hair Salon’s lease was terminated, but the abrupt change for the salon brought a new opportunity. The owners bought out Londin Hair Company, 1103 Washington Ave., merged employees and is now conducting a successful salon and spa business in the new location.

Rick Gately, owner of La Grande Gold and Silver, has been in his location for the past 44 years. He entered a sublease agreement with the Thatchers for his current store space and part of the former Capelli Hair Salon space. Gately’s expansion project is currently underway.

Expanding inventoryThe expansion for Ace Hardware will be most noticeable in its sporting goods department, Thatcher said, which will be set up in the extra square footage they get from the rear of the building.

“Our sporting goods department has done very well for us. The new space will mostly be used for sporting goods, which will probably double in size from 5,000 square feet to 9,000 square feet,” he said.

Once the sporting goods are moved from their current area, Ace Hardware will use that vacated space to expand every department in the hardware line. In doing so, the nut and bolt selection and the steel power equipment supply will both be doubled. There will also be more space for Ace Hardware’s repair shop.

“We have one of the best mechanics in Eastern Oregon, Jeff Evers, and he does a super good job with our repairs in the back,” Thatcher said.

Departments like plumbing, electrical and power tools are going to get bigger and the offering will be increased. This will allow displays like patio sets, tents and ground blinds for hunters to be set up for customers to look at. Seeing the product out of its box is the best way for shoppers to determine the quality of the product and how it is set up.

The expansion project will be quite an undertaking, Thatcher said, but it was already part of the business’ five-year plan, and Ace Hardware’s management is willing to take it on.

“We are waiting on the construction build-out right now,” he said. “Tim Matthews, of TMC General Construction of La Grande, started remodeling in February.”

In March, the Thatchers attended the 2024 Ace Hardware Spring Convention and saw a lot of interesting inventory and ideas that they want to incorporate into the soon-to-be-expanded La Grande store.

“We’re going to take things to the next level, so that’s the cool factor,” Scott Thatcher said. “We’re super excited about it.”

Additional employees have been hired and more will be needed in the future as the expansion project comes to completion.

Steady business growthAce Hardware has seen an increase in customer traffic and its business is doing very well. Thatcher credits part of that to having other strong businesses in the La Grande Town Center.

“When TJ Maxx came to the mall, they brought in a lot of traffic,” he said. “So, it all helps. “I don’t know what will happen to the old Rite Aid store, but hopefully someone can move in there that can help us with our community and make it better. The more traffic in there, helps everybody.”

Ace Hardware is a co-op, and each store is individually owned.

“We all own stock in the company,” Thatcher said. “Ace Hardware has a great marketing group in Chicago and they do make suggestions for us, but ultimately we carry whatever we want.”

For example, Ace Hardware at the La Grande Town Center carries guns and ammunition. It also sells a lot of paint, especially Benjamin Moore paint, according to Thatcher. The lawn and garden inventory and greenhouses as well as outside garden decor are all starting to pick up with the weather. The electrical and plumbing department is likewise busy because of all the do-it-yourselfers.

“We’re in the people business, so if we don’t have what you’re looking for, we’ll find it for you and help you,” he said.

A family of AcersThe Thatchers came to Baker City in 1998 from Eugene to buy an old Coast to Coast Hardware store.

“People kept telling me it wouldn’t last six months, but they just fueled the fire,” Scott Thatcher said.

The Thatchers liked the hardware business, but they decided to switch to Ace Hardware in 2000. It was the right decision, and since then, “every year has been profitable for us,” he said.

Thatcher spends most of his time at this location.

In 2010, the Thatchers opened their second Ace Hardware store, this time at the La Grande Town Center.

They hired Craig Binder as the manager, and he has handled the day-to-day operation of the store since it first opened.

In 2020, during the pandemic, the Thatchers opened another store, in Pendleton. The Pendleton and La Grande stores are both in buildings leased from Carrington Company.

After so many years, the Thatchers have built a family business among the three Ace Hardware stores, and they were always hoping to get their grown children involved.

As it turns out, their daughter and son-in-law in Eugene, who both grew up in Baker City, are moving back this summer to help out at the Baker City store.

As for their son and daughter-in-law, they opened their own Ace Hardware store in Ontario in April 2023.

“I wanted to start a family business, and it looks like it’s coming around,” Thatcher said.

“We’re going to take

things to the next level,

so that’s the cool factor.”

— Scott Thatcher, co-owner of

Ace Hardware, La Grande