Huffstutler's Hardware

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Huffstutler's Hardware was a Homewood hardware store located at 2732 Central Avenue that operated for nearly 90 years in downtown Homewood.

The business was founded by Tom Huffstutler Sr in 1935 at 2829-2831 18th Street. In 1937, it moved around the corner to 1810 29th Avenue. In 1974 ownership of the store was transferred to Huffstutler's son, Tom Jr and his wife, Jean. Around 1964, the store hired Robert Tyler, who remained there for more than four decades. In the 1980s, the store became associated with national chain Ace Hardware to give the business greater buying power and name recognition.

The Huffstutlers owned most of the block on which their store stood. When approached by the developers of SoHo Square in the 2000s, they were willing to negotiate, saying the project would bring more shoppers into Homewood and, therefore, be good for their business as well. They sold the land in exchange for an unspecified lump sum payment and the building the store moved into, which also housed Huff Rental, started by Jean Huffstutler in 1988.

Ace Hardware, however, was looking for more uniformity in their stores and said the new location was too small. The Huffstutlers opted to continue business without the Ace name. The Huffstutlers' son, Todd, an attorney, opened his family law practice in the Huffstutler's Hardware building in 2012. He continued to manage the hardware store after his parents retirement. He closed the business in 2022.

References

  • Norwood, Stacey (May 7, 2004). "Surviving changes." Birmingham Business Journal
  • Bryan, Kim (February 14, 2007). "At 90, man knows nuts, bolts and a good yarn." The Birmingham News
  • Wurtele, Martha and Jake Collins (2015) Homewood. Images of America Series. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781467114905
  • Byington, Pat (September 26, 2022) "Huffstutler’s Hardware, a Homewood original, closing this fall." Bham Now

External links