Hardware Store All-Stars: N.J., N.M. and N.Y.

The Home Channel News coast-to-coast and state-by-state hardware store all-star project visits New Jersey, New Mexico and New York.

• New Jersey

Moorestown Hardware

This converted lumberyard offers “21st-century products in a 19th-century environment.” The building that now houses Moorestown Hardware was a lumberyard in the 1890s that supplied materials for homes in Moorestown and surrounding communities. It closed in 1971, but was purchased and reopened as a hardware store in 1972. Owner Pete Bender has kept the quaintness about the store, piping in old tunes while customers shop. The sales staff is folksy, too, which is part of this store’s charm. “It was as though people had been waiting for us and wanted us to succeed,” Bender said.

• New Mexico

Big Jo True Value Hardware

Big Jo has won local, state, region and national awards. So something is working at this Santa Fe, N.M.-based hardware store. “When you walk in our doors, there is always someone waiting for you,” said co-owner Rick C de Baca. “We’re known for customer service and going above and beyond what most retailers would do. We give to the schools, the youth programs. We help the families who live here and then in turn shop here.” Big Jo is also known for carrying items — big and small — that customers won’t find anywhere else, C de Baca said.

• New York

Costello’s Ace Hardware

We can’t say this is where Donald Trump shops, but this is where he took his “The Apprentice” television show to give contestants some real-world retailing experience. The company, founded in 1973, has expanded steadily over the years, branching out across New York’s high-population-density communities of Long Island — its 16th and 17th stores opened this year in Smithtown and East Islip.

On Thursday, we'll profile hardware store all-stars from North Carolina, North Dakota and Ohio. For the full article, as it appeared in the May issue of Home Channel News, register online to read here.