A reader sends in this reminder:"With all the coverage of the new Target store and the empty storefronts at the Wilson El Stop, I wanted to take a moment to remind/inform your readers about the Ace Hardware just north of Wilson at Clifton and Broadway.
While I'm excited to have a Target within walking distance of home, it's crucial that we continue to support the small, independently owned businesses in Uptown. Every time I go into Ace, I'm greeted by someone asking how they can help. They're quick to assist and I'm usually out the door in less than 5 minutes. When I mentioned this to my neighbor, she didn't even know we had a neighborhood hardware store. I'm guessing she's not the only one.
While Target is great for discount toilet paper and laundry detergent, please keep Ace in mind for those little projects around the house."
image via Google Street View
Heck yeah! Love this Ace and have to second on the helpful folks inside.
ReplyDeleteTarget is all well and good, but they simply don't carry a lot of hardware items.
So, when I do lose a screw (as many of have rightly claimed in the past), I can go to Ace and snag a replacement.
I second this!!! There are many things you can get cheaper at Target than Jewel. When it comes to hardware, and solving home maintenance issues, it really pays to stick with our local Ace. They are always so helpful and knowledgeable!!! Support this business!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with supporting our small businesses. Would be nice if ACE could do a little upkeep with the outside of their store. It is so dingy sometimes I can't even tell if its open. We need to work on beautification of our streets, a little help from the store owners would be greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI love that Ace. They are so helpful and they do have a ton of things that you cannot find at Target. Target does not have a garden center, so I still know that I need to go to Ace for certain things.
ReplyDeleteIf Ace doesn't have what you need, I also recommend Crafty Beaver on Lawrence between Clark and Ashland. Really good service, family owned, been in Uptown a good long time. Plus, the name is funny. :-)
ReplyDeleteI go to this Ace from time to time and they have always had what I needed.
ReplyDeleteI wish they (or the landlord) would invest a little to spruce up the store, but I understand the economics might not support it.
i love this ace!! the people there are so friendly, they always assit me with what i need and are extremley informative about anything i need!
ReplyDeletecontinue to support them! :)
UU, you read my mind. I was just thinking about posting something about this. I needed A/C filters on Friday. Instead of going to Target, I went to Ace. It is a more pleasant walk now that Clifton is cleaned up.
ReplyDeleteThey are very helpful there and it is great to have it in the neighborhood.
I heard once that ACE store was very much against us Condo Owners.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all you guys on Ace Hardware - they are also great at making keys. I went to get keys made at the Walmart in the suburbs and none of them worked. I had to return them all.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went to Ace Hardware, they explained that the machines they use at big box retailers nowadays don't work as well as the manual machines for making keys. It was actually just as cheap to get them made at Ace Hardware, as well.
definitely. We always get most of our hardware at Ace.
ReplyDeleteOn several occasions I have gone in and described what I needed as "a thing that ...". Each time I walked out with the correct "a thing that ...". These guys are good.
ReplyDeleteThat Ace is great.
ReplyDeleteThere used to be more hardware stores around here, but they closed.
The tattoo shop used to be a True Value for about 40 years+.
There also used to be a hardware store on 3900 Broadway. Now a video store/cafe type of thing.
The Home Depot/Menard's emergence has really hurt independent hardware stores.
One of their employees did mildly "dis" condo owners in a Medill? journalism video. Some people don't like change.
That Ace has been hurt by big box retailing more than anything else. Helped by the closing of most of it's immediate competition local wise.
The hours also suck.
For keys and lock related issues, no house calls, I recommend "Felix's" on da 4600 block of Clark across from Staples.
ReplyDeleteThat guy is a lock geek.
I'll admit I used to use the Wilson stop daily and never even knew this was there for the longest time. When I needed hardware, I rode my bike almost a mile south to the Lakeview one because I was able to see it from the "L" which I couldn't the Uptown store. Thankfully there's not really a big box hardware store nearby, so hopefully both of these Ace's will stay for a while.
ReplyDelete-Brian
Living at the south end of Uptown, I go to the Ace on Sheridan just south of the Sheridan L stop. They are very helpful, allow me to bring my dog in the store and give her a biscuit to boot. Very smart marketing since every time I walk by my dog drags me to the door wanting to go inside! They just expanded into the old jewelery store space next door where they have a very nice and expansive paint showroom.
ReplyDeleteThere's also the Ace just south of Irving (I know it's not uptown...but it's like our cousin). Super helpful and they just recently expanded the store to have a whole beautiful paint selection
ReplyDeletePros & Cons on this place. I went to the new Targe this weekend with a list (I needed a specific light bulb) and not only did they not have it, but they seemed to be out of a lot of stuff. Furthemore, I did not find thier prices competative, even with the Target on Peterson. I walked away empty handed, and disappointed
ReplyDeleteHowever, this Ace did not become part of the equation, because of reasons already stated: it's dingy, the location, I find the parking scary and I honestly just dont want to waste a trip when I can...order it off the internet.
If you want to have some fun, try to find this place on Google Street View.
It's not immediate gratification, and there's no customer service, but I know what I'm getting and the price is good.
Cleaning this place up and a little marketing would go a long way.
Ace is a great place!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this post. The people that run the shop are very helpful and friendly. They carry most things you would need for the home. If you need somthing they don't have sometimes they special order.
ReplyDeleteGreat little shop.
Now if we could just get rid of the crack heads and gangbangers that hang around outside the hardware store and the neighborhood, life would be good.
ReplyDeletefirst UU post where most comments have been positive!! I love this place, I go all the time.
ReplyDeleteA, I don't believe that is true. Our association has an account with them, and we get a discount for shopping there.
ReplyDeleteI'm agree w/all the great comments - Joe is always super helpful with anything I need! They're great. I always opt for them when I need anything hardware related for the cupcake gallery.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the laundromat next to JJ peppers finally reopened, the women seems to actually care about her customers
ReplyDeleteWe ran out of gas and I wlked from wilson/broadway up to the BP on Marina/Lawrence. Guess what, no gas cans, not even a loaner (I dunno how business owners think these days, its not like anyone ever needs a gas can at a gas station!)
ReplyDeleteThank god for the Ace, who had plenty of cans and different sizes. As others have said its a very friendly place and thats seems rare.
And the nice folks at Ace let dogs in the store and will give them a little biscuit.
ReplyDeleteI will not be shopping at the new Target any time soon, at least not until they give a significant gift to the National Center for Lesbian Rights or the Human Rights Commission.
I shop there all the time!!! With every visit, I have found exactly what I needed! The staff is friendly, courteous, and helpful.
ReplyDeleteNeed a new lock? They have 'em! Need to unclog a backed up toilet? They can help! Whatever your home maintenance needs are... this store can help you get the job done.
UU, thanks for the reminder!!!!!!
Completely agree! Thanks for posting this; I only wish I had thought of it :).
ReplyDeleteJoe is great any they have many, many items that Target does not. Plus, they will order stuff you need that they don't have.
Ace isn't the only small business in danger of chain stores moving into the area.
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend Fresh Harvest Market (on Sheridan just south of Leland). The staff is friendly, they have a diverse selection, and are very open to suggestions about additional items they should carry! With Jewel on Montrose, Target, and soon Dominick's up on Foster, it's important that we continue to support our local grocery!
The Ace is a good store and the workers are helpful. I would trade there more if it where not for the usual creeps that I have to pass to get there.
ReplyDeleteIndeed! Supporting the little guy helps us all out in the future. Even though ACE is a franchise, the store is independently owned. I don't look forward to the day that big box stores are our only option.
ReplyDeleteI have also shopped at this Ace. The other day, I ran in there to get something and felt really bad for the guy working there because he had to deal with a naughty group of 4 kids around 7-10 years old who were touching things and going in and out of the doors, generally being annoying little nuisances. It got so bad, I stepped in to help him. The kids then went outside and were trying to knock down a steet sign. They were just looking for trouble.
ReplyDeleteI really like this Ace but agree with an earlier post about trying to clean it up a bit. It might even give it some more visibility. Many of my neighbors don't know it's there.
I also love the local hardware stores whose staff really knows their stuff. Reminds me a bit of the early scenes in "Saturday Night Fever." (Tony, you have a FUTURE here!)
ReplyDeleteI've tried going here many times and it is never open when it would be useful.
ReplyDeleteAlways end up going over to Crafty Beaver as they have reasonable hours.
They rock. They are have hardware knowledge! The man that is always there knows a lo-- be sure to ask his advice.
ReplyDeleteGreat place! Very helpful. You're going to walk past undesirables even at the Target...support Ace, too.
ReplyDeletei'm glad to hear all the positive comments.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a local store (Joe used to live on Kenmore) that shows the best of a small business.
Maybe UCC & the block clubs can work with Ace on helping them with the outside. Also, if anyone has some things to spruce it up (special lights, signs), or volunteer to paint, that could help. It would be a more practical way to practice "positive loitering". So instead of standing around with a sign, you can watch and talk while creating a better Uptown.
Also, if you shop regularly & develop a relationship with Joe & the staff, you can more easily pursuade them on things such as clean up , or maybe having 1 night a week where they have extended hours.
Sorry, JP, we only take unsolicited advice from people who cared enough to stay in Uptown. Don't bother to stay? We won't bother to listen.
ReplyDeleteBlago's attorney Sam Adam, Sr. said after today's verdict that, in defending his client's reputation, he "had to go to Ace Hardware and find a ladder to climb up to the bottom."
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I thought of was this thread. EVERYBODY reads Uptown Update! (lol)
But TSN,
ReplyDeleteYou did the same thing in your ocmment on Harry Osterman & the 48th ward, even though you don't live there.
(And how do i know you don't really live near Tanya Lawler? ;)
I have been a long time customer at the Ace, and a customer of local businesses here. And i can tell you, they are far more responsive to pople who have relationships with them
Did you Joe was a neighbor of yours?
JP, I too am pondering the relevance of your comment? You've moved to the South Side, right?
ReplyDeleteI try to go to Ace as much as possible. They are very friendly. However, they need to upgrade the facilities. Maybe when the CTA rehabs the store fronts they can move there.
ReplyDeleteLovit it! Wish they were open a bit later on weekdays.
ReplyDelete