August 17, 2007
Buy Indie: Logan Hardware
Written by Buy Indie's Vince Wadhwani
It's easy to justify going to an independent clothing boutique to find a unique outfit. After all, who wants to walk into a bar wearing the same thing as everyone else? But when it comes to our housewares and hardware, the equation often becomes a lot less complicated. Though you may not find a pink toolbelt over at the Home Depot, you also won't find too many people fretting because they've got the same hammer as their best friend. For most of us, price and selection rule.
Despite those challenges, local good guys Logan Hardware have been able to thrive in an environment of chain hardware stores. They've got the advantage of being backed up by the Ace cooperative, which keeps pricing reasonable, but their success goes beyond that. "One of the things we pride ourselves on is the customer service. We're going to say hello when you come in the door, we're going to ask you what you need to complete your whole project, not just if you're looking for the lightbulbs," said Robbie Kaplan, Logan's buyer.
Logan Hardware is actually deceptively large, so if you haven't yet wandered in for that do-it-yourself project, you might be surprised to learn that they also have a large selection of housewares too. "You'll find sink trays and dish towels, but you might also find a really fancy salt and pepper shaker or professional series Oxo knives. People are constantly saying they had no idea a hardware store would carry this sort of thing."
With stores in Glover Park, Tenleytown, one in Baltimore and a fifth location opening up soon, Logan Hardware hasn't forgotten that it's the community that matters. They've teamed up with Habitat For Humanity and several other local businesses to build somebody a home in Northeast DC. The initiative is called Ms. Manor and they're knee deep trying to raise $145,000 and rally volunteers for the effort. Interested people can visit their registry and buy any one of the dozens of items needed to build the house. From toilets to light switches, there's something in everyone's price range. A Happy Hour and Silent Auction are planned for September 20th at Hotel Helix to bolster the fundraising effort.
You can check out the entire interview with Robbie Kaplan on Buyindie.
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They have so much going for them.
Unlike the big box stores, they carry all kinds of stuff that you need in an old house. The big guys seem to assume that everyone lives in a new McMansion in the burbs, and don't have good stuff like sash cord, weird parts for old doors, or pieces for old radiators. Logan has that stuff.
They carry canning supplies. They carry cleaning supplies. They carry every nail you could every need.
And even more important to me - they have good staff who know what they're talking about and are willing to give good advice.
I love our local hardwares stores. Not only these guys, but also Strosneider's, 17th St, Frager's - they are truly great places to shop. Without them, I would have a much harder time keeping my old row house happy and functional.
I didn't realize DCist ran free commercials for certain businesses.
By the way, while I applaud Logan Hardware's efforts to help Habitat for Humanity, I would point out that Home Depot announced in May that, through its foundation, it was committing $100 Million over the next ten years to build 100,000 affordable and energy efficient homes and plant 3 million trees in urban areas.
So I have no problem taking my business to Home Depot and knowing that I will get the best prices, the best selection, and a company that cares just as much about the community as any small local store.
Logan Hardware is an excellent store - I cannot praise it highly enough. I'm glad it is within walking distance from home.
Well if we're using DCist to plug business, let me give a shout out to Pfieffer's Hardware in Mt. Pleasant. Yeah.
Logan Hardware is great. It has a wide selection and the staff is super-friendly and helpful.
Also, by spending $$ at a locally-owned store like Logan Hardware, more money stays in our local economy.
For example, a neighborhood similar to Logan Circle, Andersonville, in Chicago, did a study in which it found that for every 100 $ spent at an independent local store, over 70 $ stayed in the local economy. Contrast that with just over 40 $ staying local for every 100 $ spent in a chain store (http://www.andersonvillestudy.com/).
Despite those challenges, local good guys Logan Hardware have been able to thrive in an environment of chain hardware stores.
I think they're great, but with five locations they're a chain, too.
God forbid you need to find someone to help you at Home Depot.
Something else: I've seen a couple of TLC/HGTV shows set in DC where they go looking for furniture/materials at some sort of retro/salvage shop. Anyone know where this place is?
I'm not sure where that would be in DC, but if you're looking for salvage materials for rowhomes, head to Baltimore and go to Second Chance (http://www.secondchanceinc.org/), it's a nonprofit that reuses materials and also works with low-income Baltimoreans on job training.
They have something like 5 warehouses of stuff and they are just south of Camden Yards.
Bob, it's probably this place:
http://www.thebrassknob.com/
They have a salvage yard on North Capitol St. that was featured on This Old House.
Good luck even finding a cart at Home Depot. The last time I was at the RIA location I ended up having to go to the check out three times because I couldn't possibly carry everything in one trip and there were NO carts available.
Then the manager laughed at me for carrying charcoal on my head. He claims that they refuse to buy any new carts because they lose over 200 to theft per month. I don't care HOW MANY you lose, if you are a big box hardware store you need to have carts.
"local good guys Logan Hardware have been able to thrive in an environment of chain hardware stores."
How exactly is a city with one Home Depot, no Wal-Mart, and the nearest Lowes a thirty-minute drive "an environment of chain hardware stores.?"
That said, DC’s local hardware stores may be grossly overpriced, keep minimal hours, and provide crap pay and weak benefits, but they still beat the hell out of trying to deal with the morons who work at the local Home Depot.
If we're going to talk great local hardware stores, how about Frager's Hardware in Eastern Market? Once again you DCist editors only seem to think NW is where anybody lives.
I agree with everett- Fragers is a jewel. Although i have been very happy with the service i've found at logan hware. I have a lot of odd requests and logan has been more than accomedating.
although i live close to fragers so i'll go there. parking for both locales is a nightmare.
poor district lock on 8th st. is *terrible* since Ed left 9 years ago, no one knows what or where anything is. If you do ever have to go there, ask for Bill. He's the only one who seems to know how to get things done there.
Along with the Brass Knob (great place for house parts), Community Forklift is not very far over the MD line. http://www.communityforklift.com/
Everett, I've done features on places other than NW before. As far as Frager goes it's been listed for a while on buyindie. And if your favorite store isn't there, you are more than welcome to contribute by clicking the 'submit store' link on the site.
Logan IS a chain (ACE Hardware) and the notion of "keeping money in the community" really doesn't make much sense; Home Depot pays its city taxes, too.
The fact is, Home Depot has markedly cheaper prices, and markedly worse customer service than Logan. If you know what you want, and have a car, there's no reason to go to Logan first.
If you don't know what you want, then Logan is far better than Home Depot, but let's not be all misty-eyed about "local community business". I want my local business to have good service, great selection, and great prices. If they don't, I don't want them in my community and will feel no obligation to patronize them.
For my money, Logan is convenient and has helpful staff and is where I go when I need a few things quickly and dont' mind paying an extra buck for the closeness; for serious projects, I always start at Home Depot.
Yes! Frager's!
I just love the experience of going into neighborhood hardware stores. There's just something more visually appealing about seeing hardware crammed (but neatly arranged) in a small space, and you can get into a conversation with an employee who knows what they're talking about and is happy to talk to you. It's like going to the Farmer's Market vs. Safeway.
If we're pushing local businesses, and you want price, convenience, and helpful service, Strosniders in Bethesda/Silver Spring are phenomenal. They're a bit daunting when you first walk in (Bethesda has over 50 short aisles), but someone's always willing to help and the people in every section actually know what they're talking about, unlike Home Depot/Lowes/etc.
I went in there to put a new pipe to my washing machine with a picture of the current setup and one pipe cap and walked out in 10 minutes with everything I needed thanks to the plumbing guy. I love that store!
ACE Hardware isn't a chain. It's a cooperative, more like a franchise. I know the owners of Logan Hardware, who are business people and live in the District. Why do people get so bent out of shape about chains anyway? Many chains are franchises owned by independent local business people. So what that they own 5 stores now. They must be doing something right. I challenge anyone to run ANY single-location brick&mortar business and be able to make enough money to be able to turn a profit and afford to live in DC. The urban fairy tale days of the small neighborhood businessman/resident who lives above the store are largely past. It's just not economically feasible. As for Home Depot, it's an apples/oranges comparision- the 2 businesses are very different.
Ace Hardware isn't a chain in the traditional sense. It's a buyers' cooperative. That's why "Joe's Ace Hardware" may not look the same or carry the same items as "Fred's Ace Hardware", They are neither owned nor managed from a central location.
I love Frager's, too. I love Pfeiffer's even more.
#16, to be fair, ACE Hardware is not a chain. Nor is it a franchise. It is a retailers' cooperative. Independent owners who share purchasing power and advertising expenses, but far more independent than a franchise.
"Logan IS a chain (ACE Hardware) and the notion of "keeping money in the community" really doesn't make much sense; Home Depot pays its city taxes, too."
It's not all about taxes. Local stores are more likely to use local companies for services they require, rather than having huge contracts with other nation-wide companies. Plus, the profit doesn't go up the chain to fatcats in Atlanta.
"Logan IS a chain (ACE Hardware) and the notion of "keeping money in the community" really doesn't make much sense; Home Depot pays its city taxes, too."
The idea is that money spent at an independent store is more likely to circle back into the local economy. So while Home Depot pays salaries and taxes that stay local just like an independent shop, more of the money spent there gets siphoned away from the area to national suppliers and public shareholders.
Another big shout out to pfeiffer's hardware in Mt P., another wonderful local hardware store where owner Todd Pfeiffer will greet you at the door and personally help you find what you need or make suggestions about how to fix-it your problems, all kinds of problems. I've never found that at Home Depot.
"The idea is that money spent at an independent store is more likely to circle back into the local economy. So while Home Depot pays salaries and taxes that stay local just like an independent shop, more of the money spent there gets siphoned away from the area to national suppliers and public shareholders."
First off, suppliers are suppliers. Logan isn't buying hammers from some local foundry operating in SW or its lumber from a sawmill out in Anacostia.
You are correct, however, about the profits. Home Depot's profits are spread accross the entire company, including executives in corporate HQ, less successful stores, developing markets that need a boost, and of course shareholders.
However, that is likely offset by the higher wages paid by Home Depot, the better benefits offered by Home Depot (both of which equal more money in the pockets of local employees) and of course the sheer number of employees that Home Depot has. A single Home Depot store probably has more employees on any given shift than Logan has in its entire company. So the volume of money being sent back into DC may be higher at Home Depot.
How about this? Once the Eastern Market temporary building is done, supposedly on August 25, DCist does a nice article on all of the businesses in that immediate area:
the market itself
Penn Ave businesses, including some of the eateries and the organic market
8th Street SE row of businesses (okay, maybe not the can Marines go to the bars angle this time)
And heck, make a call for DCist photographers to take pics of how life has changed or improved since the fire?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
Bueller?
I have never been to the main store, but the one in Tenley is really depressing. The store is in the middle of a parking garage. The whole place seems small, cramped, and dreary. The staff was not overly friendly, and mostly talked among themselves while I was there. Maybe the main store is different, but I can't say there is really much at all to recommend the one in Tenley.
But we think everyone lives in Northwest, Everett.
And a post on Mangialardo & Sons for good measure.
I second Everett's idea. Our neighborhoods out in SE and SW are very underepresented!
When I first came to DC, the Logan Hardware staff was so helpful! They also hooked me up with Urban Referrals - and that certainly keeps money circulating locally.
Am I the only one to have had a bad experience at Logan Hardware? I had one sales person drop and nearly lose pieces of a faucet I had brought in. When I took the pieces back from his hands and told him that if he lost or damaged the pieces I wouldn't be able to return it in the event that I couldn't get the faucet to work with my sink. He proceeded to yell at me and fill up with bravado, as if I had insulted him. I got so incensed that I told him to screw himself and walked out.
My impression is that their staff is friendly but not very knowledgeable. I can find junk on the shelf just as easily as they can.
I'll keep going to Candey Hardware, on 18th at Connecticut.
guest 33:
Not for long, you won't...
Thank you, Adam, for highlighting those. Now look at the number of those stories against the number of stories about NW -- perhaps part of the skew is due to Graham and his constant antics.
Seriously though, there are stories to be told about Lincoln Park, Eastern Market, Galludet and Catholic Univ. neighborhoods, and they aren't getting told very often.
What's going on with the renovation of the old Children's Museum as it's turned into luxury apartments? What's the upcoming season of the Atlas Theater include? How about a run down of all of the new(ish) yoga establishments in Capitol Hill? How's the fundraising and work going with the Eastern Market building? What's happening with the resistance to starting up a charter school on 12th St NE, and how did the neighborhood fare when Constitution Ave. became two-way, all the time?
"However, that is likely offset by the higher wages paid by Home Depot, the better benefits offered by Home Depot (both of which equal more money in the pockets of local employees) and of course the sheer number of employees that Home Depot has. A single Home Depot store probably has more employees on any given shift than Logan has in its entire company. So the volume of money being sent back into DC may be higher at Home Depot."
Well so long as you understand the concept, then perhaps you can understand the fact that a study has been done to cast doubt on your personal observations. Besides, the greater the volume at Home Depot, the worse it is in terms of recirculating money. If you accept the idea that a dollar spent at a big box store will recirculate less than a dollar spent at an indie store, then the more volume big box stores have, the less money there is recirculating than if that same amount were spent at indie stores.
You are assuming that, absent a Home Depot, every dollar spent there would be spent at some sort of small local store. Nice thought, but wrong. Home Depot sells big ticket items like appliances, entire cabinet sets, grills, etc that are simply not carried (or else not carried in any sort of reasonable volume) at smaller stores. Long before Home Depot, people bought stuff like that at places like Sears, which was, uh oh, another evil chain. Chain stores have been around for a long time, because, as any "study" will show you, they offer economy of scale advantages in price and selection that can not be matched by smaller stores.
Think of it this way, Home Depot buys more hammers from Company X in one day than Logan buys in a year. Which company do you think will get the better price from Company X? I won't even get into advantages in inventory control and supply chain management that have allowed chain stores to thrive even more.
In terms of total money recycled back into the "community" more employees making higher wagers will mean more money going to more people who live in the community. If Logan has 5 employees making $100 per week, that's $500 in the pot. If Home Depot has 20 employees making $150 per week, then they are contributing $3,000 to the "community."
I don't know about Logan, but I do know that Home Depot offers every one of its part-time hourly employees a medical plan subsidized in part by the company. That means more money freed up for employees to spend in the community on other things.
And then there is the charity angle (which is excluded from the study often cited here). Logan is helping build a house. Nothing wrong with that, but they have 99,999 houses to go before they reach the level of charitable homebuilding that Home Depot is committed to.
Hi Everett. Those all sound like great post ideas. If you'd like to submit some writing samples and start contributing to DCist, please email me at sommer (at) dcist.com. We're always looking for new contributors, especially folks who can offer perspectives on neighborhoods we aren't covering well already.
I go to Logan Hardware for 2 reasons, 1)because its located in Logan/Dupont area 2)one of the guys there is super hot.
Everett, they cover those areas and related topics all the time, but you seem to not be paying attention. DCist bends over backwards to cover activities in the 'Atlas District' (weekend music lineups), Eastern Market (rebuilding, community impacts), and so on. The coverage seems to be very indicative of the readership's sphere of interest, and like Sommer suggests, in a nicer tone, either put up (and start contributing) or shut up.
"You are assuming that, absent a Home Depot, every dollar spent there would be spent at some sort of small local store."
No. I'm stating that a dollar spent at any store like Home Depot is less likely to be recirculated into the local economy than a dollar spent at an independent store. You don't seem to grasp that I'm talking about percentages and not volume and that I have studies to back it up.
I love Logan Hardware. I always get GREAT service there.
What is wrong with DCist promoting a local business? Do it more!
I got to Home Depot, too, but not as much as I would otherwise if Logan Hardware wasn't near my house. And that's a good thing. Service is nonexistent.
Viva Logan Hardware!