The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
HARDWARE STORE UP TO CHALLENGE
Farm and Home Hardware providing services despite limitations caused by pandemic
Farm & Home Hardware in Wellington has continued to provide the same level of service for the community despite the various limitations due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“Well it’s been five weeks or so now, when we heard the governor was shutting businesses down and we found out we were essential because of the hardware and appliance side,” said Scott Jerousek, owner of the business at 120 S. Main St.
“We then looked at what we needed to do to stay open.
“We had probably about 10 percent of our staff that self-quarantined and ended up staying home. With that, we had to adjust hours down to accommodate by lowering hours (8 a.m. to 7 p.m.). Overall, the weather got nice, folks have been working on the inside and outside of their homes, and we have been really busy,” he said.
Jerousek said the business has worked hard to keep things moving over the course of the past few weeks.
“We are known for the general hardware equipment, but we also have a great garden center with an excellent selection. We also have outdoor equipment like lawnmowers and chainsaws." — Farm and Home Hardware owner Scott Jerousek
“We have been working a lot harder for what we are getting right now because of the curbside service and added deliveries and things like that,” he said. “
We have actually hired a few folks over the last month to come in and work with us.
“Now, we are running into issues where supplies are more difficult for us to get. There have obviously been issues with getting masks, hand sanitizers and things like that.
“But now, it’s getting to be everyday products like plumbing, electrical, paint ... because of the huge demand that we, and pretty
much every home improvement business, has seen due to people being home.”
Jerousek said the big item for the store recently has been the selling of paint.
“Paint probably has been the one that sticks out the most,” he said. “We have probably sold three times the paint over the past seven weeks as we normally do.
“A lot of it is husbands that are home, and folks not having to run out to youth sports that have all been canceled,” he added. “We have also noticed a gardening increase of people coming in to start seeds, to buy plants and soon there will probably be a huge demand for canning.”
Jerousek said the business has a popular garden center.
“We are known for the general hardware equipment, but we also have a great garden center with an excellent selection,” he said. “We also have outdoor equipment like lawnmowers and chainsaws.
“We also have a good gift department with a lot of Yeti products.”
Jerousek said the hardware store carries certain items the big box stores don’t.
“We set ourselves apart with the selection,” he said. “We will carry certain things that they wouldn’t carry like fasteners; we carry a lot of extra fittings that they don’t stock.
“... We also have the great ease of shopping and great service for our customers.”