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With spring fully in bloom, people in Hayneville and Lowndes County are turning their attention to outdoor planting and spring cleaning. They are happily finding a local option that keeps them from having to drive to a big box store to find the tools and expertise they need to check everything off their to-do lists.

Hayneville Ace Hardware, located at 201 Hayneville Plaza in Hayneville,

opened in 2018 and is growing each day.

“We are seeing steady growth day after day, month after month,” Manager Joe Bell said. “Our main goal is to provide convenient service to the community. What is exciting is that customers don’t have to travel out of town for their hardware needs.”

Bell has worked in the lumber and hardware business the majority of his life and is now using his knowledge to ensure customers are taken care of through his family business. With prices that are competitive with the big box stores in other areas, Bell and his team members go out of their way to make sure all of their customer’s needs are met.

Bell is no stranger to Hayneville or the hardware business. Earlier in his career, he worked for a pallet company in Calhoun manufacturing wooden pallets. When the pallet factory closed, Bell continued to manufacture pallets through Bell Enterprises, his own company, which progressed into lumber sales to contractors.

Contractors would come to Bell needing additional building material, such as plumbing and electrical supplies. This resulted in Bell starting the JT BELL Home Improvement Company to meet contractor’s demands.

In 2015 Bell’s two sons, Joe and Travis, began exploring options to open a new hardware store. The two eventually decided to build and open an Ace Hardware store at its current location.

Choosing the ACE Hardware brand has paid dividends said Bell. Ace not only provides continued training but also brings expertise when it comes to the presentation of products. Ace Hardware also has tremendous brand recognition. Founded in 1924 in Chicago, Ace Hardware has more than 5,000 stores around the world, the majority, like Bell’s, are owner operated.

“When passing through, people are much more likely to see and stop in at an Ace Hardware than they are to see and stop in at a store named Bell Hardware” Bell said.

Despite COVID-19 and inflation, the store continues to see growth.

“I have had great challenges in the past with recessions, but since we’ve opened this store, we have seen increased activity and have transitioned well from the smaller store to our current location,” Bell said.

Bell said there are also plans for expansion. An additional 1,500 square feet of the current building the business had originally planned to lease will now be converted into additional hardware space that is presently being designed by Ace.

Hayneville Ace Hardware employs five people, but plans to hire more employees to handle lumber and delivery. Hayneville Ace Hardware is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.