Petro brothers closing Inkerman hardware shop

INKERMAN — A Luzerne County business that’s been a favorite for do-it-yourselfers for more than a half century is closing up shop.

Our newsgathering partners at Eyewitness News spoke with the owners of Petro’s Hardware and Supply on Main Street, Inkerman, which is expected to shut down by year’s end.

In a 2018 Sunday Dispatch story, co-owners Thom and Joe Petro spoke about the history of their family business, which originally started as a showroom for their father, homebuilder and remodeler Thomas J. Petro Sr. (More on that below).

Eyewitness News report

On Tuesday, many customers of Petro’s hardware and supply found out the hardworking brothers are ready to hang up their hats.

“It was a tough decision for the both of us to come to, but we’re gonna press on and hopefully, we have another 15, 20 more years of retirement that we could sit down and enjoy,” Joseph Petro said.

“People can’t believe we’re brothers and we stayed in business as long as we did but, you know, we’re brothers,” he added.

The store’s loyal shoppers have become part of the Petro’s lives and Petro’s has become part of theirs.

“We were here, we were knowledgeable, we treated them with respect, and we usually tried to give them what they needed the first time,” Thom Petro explained.

The brothers sent a letter to their customers letting them know about their decision.

“We feel more like a family toward them, and they feel like a family to us, and we figured we’d just bring it to them and let them know what’s going on,” his brother added.

Retirement sale starts Thursday

As a final gift to the community, the store will have a retirement sale starting Thursday, dropping prices and giving away prizes until everything’s gone.

“We’re anticipating it would probably take close to two months,” Thom Petro said.

Once the brothers close their register for the last time, there’s one thing they want the community to remember.

“We really appreciate the fact that we have had such a long run, you know, and such loyal customers. It’s been a really great time,” he continued.

The Petros do not know the future of their store, but Joseph Petro says he does hope someone buys it as a hardware store and takes advantage of their great location and loyal customers.

History of the shop

That loyalty was built up over decades.

As told in the 2018 Sunday Dispatch feature, Thomas Petro Sr. eventually decided to also carry a small selection of products to sell visitors. In 1972, the construction business folded and the showroom became a dedicated retail space for hardware and building supplies.

Thomas passed in 1979, leaving his wife, Helen, in control of the business. In 1981, at the urging of Thom, they aligned themselves with Chicago-based Ace Hardware. Ace is a retail cooperative—its members are more like business partners than franchisees, each contributing to a partnership that allows stores to buy low and sell at competitive prices.

In 1993, the brothers became co-owners of Petro Ace Hardware. Despite changes throughout the years, Thom said he and Joe never lost their focus on customers.

“We like to have them leave with exactly what they need to do the job they come in about, whether they know what they need or not, and everyone leaves with, ‘Thank you,’” Thom Petro said in the 2018 piece.

Over the coming weeks, they’ll have a chance to say “thank you” to those customers one more time, before saying “goodbye.”

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Petro Hardware and Supply is located at 640 Main St., Inkerman. For more information, visit https://www.acehardware.com/store-details/07909.