I've invited J to guest post this one as he has a family connection to this store, which sadly closed recently.
A former Astoria institution, Walters Hardware was opened many decades ago by my great-great Uncle, Marty Walters. Fortunately, the store was still up and running as a hardware store when we moved to the neighborhood last summer. At that time, I had the chance to talk to then owner, Tommy, who was excited to meet me and tell me about patrons who had been coming to the store for many, many years since Marty was running the place. Despite having changed hands several times over the years, the store retained its original name up until its recent closing (November 2011). In fact, according to Tommy, little had changed since my uncle ran the place; many interior displays -- and of course the outdoor signage -- remained unchanged (including the tagline above the door "If we don't have it, you don't need it"). While Astoria retains so many other locally run, character-filled businesses, Walters Hardware will surely be missed.
~hope to be back with more guest posts in the future...-J
A former Astoria institution, Walters Hardware was opened many decades ago by my great-great Uncle, Marty Walters. Fortunately, the store was still up and running as a hardware store when we moved to the neighborhood last summer. At that time, I had the chance to talk to then owner, Tommy, who was excited to meet me and tell me about patrons who had been coming to the store for many, many years since Marty was running the place. Despite having changed hands several times over the years, the store retained its original name up until its recent closing (November 2011). In fact, according to Tommy, little had changed since my uncle ran the place; many interior displays -- and of course the outdoor signage -- remained unchanged (including the tagline above the door "If we don't have it, you don't need it"). While Astoria retains so many other locally run, character-filled businesses, Walters Hardware will surely be missed.
~hope to be back with more guest posts in the future...-J
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