Last Friday, on a sunny day, Rose Hardware, located at 109 S. Main Street, had a grand reopening. Owners Scott and Angela Westhoff posed for a photo.
Scott Westhoff said there were 2,700 new items, in addition to 70 percent of fixtures being replaced and completely remerchandising the store. The remerchandising, Westhoff said, had started in 2019. He explained that in May 2019, there was an MPR survey done in May 2019 and a customer survey, allowing customers to express what they wish the store carried or services, such as screen repairs and UPS drop-off.
Lining the space between the ceilings and top walls are old pictures, which show the previous owners including Kermit Rose and his son-in-law, Richard Johnson, who had taken over the business for several years. Johnson added onto the original building, adding the north store, which used to be a pool hall and club.
The Westhoffs did say that temporarily closing their store, despite coinciding with the rise of Covid-19, had more to do with completing remerchandising and reorganizing for their grand reopening.
The Westhoffs bought Rose Hardware in 2002. After taking time to restock and rearrange the store, they held a grand opening later that year.
