The owners of a beloved Westover hardware store are reflecting on a 78-year legacy of community investment and support as they prepare to close their doors.
Over the decades, Ayers Variety and Hardware — established in 1948 — built a reputation around friendly, knowledgeable staff who embraced the “small town feel” of the surrounding neighborhood. Spending time to help customers solve household problems and track down hard-to-find items, employees connected with generations of shoppers who knew the retailer as a local fixture.
“The beauty of it was, the community fed the store, and the store fed the community,” said Kristy Peterkin, who co-owns the store at 5853 Washington Blvd with her brother, Keith Kaplan. “We didn’t exist without our loyal customers. We didn’t exist without Westover being what it is, and so we did our best to give that back.”
The store, which announced its plans earlier this month, is currently holding a 25% off sale as it prepares to close its doors on Sunday. It has to be broom clean by July 31, and Peterkin said it’s still unclear what will replace it.
The community sustained the store through some hard times. Following ankle-deep flash floods back in 2019, for instance, locals fundraised over $34,000 for repairs at Ayers and Westover Market and Beer Garden.
“They were in here every day, buying whatever they could to keep … our doors open, keep our lights on,” Peterkin said.
When Covid hit the following year, customers continued to visit for curbside pickup, allowing the store to weather the pandemic “fairly well,” Peterkin said.
At times, the store was forced to adapt. It used to sell a large selection of back-to-school supplies, but had to change when larger retailers like Staples and Target moved into that market, selling the same merchandise at lower costs. In response, Ayers invested more in its garden section, earning extra cash from bedding plants in the spring.
“You’ve just got to bend with the wind a little bit, and figure the next thing out,” Peterkin said.
The store gave back to the community over the years, hosting photos with Santa Claus and filling thousands of Easter eggs with toys and candy. Ayers also gave many teenagers their first jobs, even as it maintained a team of experienced employees.
Peterkin said her favorite part was always the customers.
“I liked talking to people. I so enjoyed hearing their stories and meeting their kids,” she said.
As a small business, Ayers also faced certain limitations. It was never able to build out a strong online presence, lacking the resources to maintain a website with its inventory of some 27,000 items. And the small staff meant long hours for Peterkin and Kaplan, whose children weren’t interested in the time investment required to carry on the family legacy.
“I think now, everybody wants to do their 40 [hours] and go home — and I don’t blame them for that. I think it’s healthy, but these kinds of businesses don’t operate that way,” Peterkin said. “If you want to be profitable, you run as lean as you can safely run.”
Peterkin said she and Kaplan decided a few years ago that they wanted to leave when their lease expired. They originally thought they’d be able to find a new owner for the store, but Peterkin said those plans fell through at the last minute.
“We’re sad to leave [Ayers] behind, because we really thought we were going to find a buyer, and that this would go on, but it just didn’t work out — and sometimes that’s how life goes,” she said.
Through all the ups and downs, Peterkin said she is proud of the legacy she leaves behind in Westover and will always be grateful for her customers’ support.
“All I can really say is thank you,” she said. “It’s meant more than they can possibly imagine.”
