To better serve their customers, Akard True Value Hardware, 25 Boone Village, has done an extensive remodel of their store and will have a grand re-opening celebration on Friday, March 23, and Saturday, March 24.
“We’re excited to be fresh,” store co-owner Leigh Ann Akard said. “The cool thing is we are giving people convenience and the upscale experience. It’s more contemporary but still has old-fashioned hardware values.”
The store will offer free food, demonstrations and giveaways from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, March 23; then at 7 p.m. will raffle off a 22-inch self-propelled lawn mower. (Winner must be present to win).
From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, the store will accept electronic items to be recycled.
The celebration will kick off at 10 a.m. March 23, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by a bag sale (20 percent off all items one can fit in a bag) and rental demonstrations until 4 p.m. They will also have Weber Grill and Kamando Joe Grill demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For a donation, a bounce house will be available starting at 10 a.m. Saturday Children will be able to bounce around to support the spring break mission trip to Haiti for a group of students from Zionsville Community High School.
There will be free food and other giveaways throughout the day, including a gas pressure washer, gas line trimmer, Waveland outdoor five-piece dining set with umbrella and base, and a Weber gas grill.
The hardware store remodel has taken more than a year and been “hands-on” for the last six months. They have rebuilt shelving to better use space, added automatic doors and brought in more than 3,000 new items to ensure they have the most relevant product assortment. The store also specializes in finding unique items and can usually get them quickly.
Since rearranging the store, Akard said it flows more easily and they are able to showcase certain items customers may not have realized the store ever had, like its rental products.
Now they have a larger showroom dedicated to that part of the business and have brought even more items in, from public address systems and bubble machines to small tents and pop-ups
“These are investments that we’re making for our business to thrive in Zionsville; it’s not a corporate thing,” Akard said. “We’re doing it out of passion, love and excitement to do better...not because a CEO said we had to.”
The desire to better serve their customers is one of the reasons why the store took longer to do the remodel. They wanted to create as little disruption as possible.
“Some businesses will go through an intense nine weeks of mayhem. We have been the turtle instead of the hare, slow and steady,” Akard said.
Also, the remodel not only has been to improve their store, but Akard said it also has been a great team-building experience. Every employee has been involved, which she said always creates a sense of pride.
The hardware opened in 1955 on Main Street in Zionsville by Akard’s grandfather, J.J. In the late 1970s, the family decided to move the store to Boone Village, which Akard said back then was considered as “the boondocks.” In the early 1990s, the store underwent an expansion. Now they have imaginatively reworked that expansion to update everything from the shelves to the items on the shelves.
Akard is the third generation to be a part of Akard True Value, as her parents Steve and Marsha are involved as well.
Akard True Value is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Call 873-5255, visit www.akardtruevalue.com or find them on Facebook (Akard True Value Hardware) for more information.
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