Business has improved in the last two months, he says, mostly with homeowners buying plumbing parts, light bulbs, and other items for do-it-yourself projects. "Paint sales were off, but all of a sudden they're starting to pick up a little. I'm hoping people are getting tired of the color of their walls."
But business from contractors is still down 40 percent, which forced Callahan to lay off one full-time worker and two part-timers. He has weathered tough economic times during his nearly 26 years in the business, "but never anything like this," he says. "Usually, after seven or eight months, you see it start to improve. This time, it's been two or three years."
Callahan tries to pick up the slack by doing repair work, such as screens, windows and lamps.
In that, he's not alone. Other area hardware stores are scrambling to find ways to make their budgets. Service and the little things, from watch batteries to single screws and nuts, are what customers want.
"I help with a nuts-and-bolt sale for 28 cents - I can't make a living on that," says Barry Rhoads, who has worked at Penndel Hardware for 15 years. "But they'll come back again."
When a customer asked where he could get fingerprinted for a background check, the Bellevue Avenue store added the service. "We've taken more than 1,000 fingerprints since April 1," Rhoads says. "If 25 percent of them become shoppers, we just improved our business."
Robert Wipplinger, who owns Penndel Hardware, says he's getting by because he and his retired father own the building and the Village Hardware building in Hatboro. Besides operating rent-free, they collect rent for apartments above both stores, Wipplinger says.
