MOUNT GREENWOOD — Barry Zimmerman, the third-generation owner of Mount Greenwood Hardware, described the decision to sell his family's store at 3124 W. 111th St. as "heartbreaking."
"There are memories there. A lot of good memories, but you have to go forward," Zimmerman said late Monday.
The throwback hardware store has been selling off its remaining items for about a month. The third-party liquidator will take a couple of weeks off before resuming the going-out-of-business sale Jan. 4.
Then, there will be roughly two more weeks left before the store — which opened in 1929 — is sold and closes forever — a move Zimmerman now says was driven largely by his struggles with Parkinson's disease.
He said the effects of the disease haven't progressed terribly in recent years, but he still needs to closely monitor his health. That proved too much for Zimmerman, who abruptly closed the store on Dec. 15, 2014.
At the time, Zimmerman said his business license was revoked because of delinquent sales taxes owed to the state. He said then that sales suffered during the latest recession. He was hoping to make-up for the tax lapse when things improved, but he never got the chance.
Barry's grandfather, Sam Zimmerman, opened Mount Greenwood Hardware and handed the business down to his two sons — Barry's father and uncle. Barry's father, Phil Zimmerman, died on July 15, 2014.
Bob Maloney of Midcentral Sales specializes in liquidating hardware stores with his Oconto Falls, Wis.-based company. He was brought in to clear out the store in its final days.
"It's like a museum," Maloney said Monday. "It's like no other hardware store in Chicago. There aren't mom-and-pop hardware stores like that anymore."
Maloney's jaw dropped when a 74-year-old woman walked into the store on Friday and told him that she used to shop there with her father, he said, adding that long faces are common among those returning to pay tribute — and look for good deals.
"It's sad, but it's evolution," he said.
Ivan Janda of O'Shaughnessy Realtors Inc. in Mount Greenwood said his company is handling the real estate sale. Neither he, Zimmerman nor Maloney would divulge the identity of the new owner. The 3,200-square-foot store is listed on O'Shaughnessy's website with a $199,000 price tag and a sale "pending."
Zimmerman said the listing is in the ballpark of the agreed upon purchase price, and he expects the deal to close near the end of January.
"It was family owned from the very beginning," said Janda, who would only say that the new owner is unlikely to sell hardware.
Meanwhile, Zimmerman has begun working part time for Chicago True Value, which opened directly across the street from his family's' store at 3111 W. 111th St. in the 1960s. He said the two stores were able to coexist by focusing on different types of customers.
Mount Greenwood Hardware had more of an industrial approach to the hardware business, while True Value targeted residential customers, said Zimmerman, who is working in outside sales for his former competitor.
He said many of his customers are now located in the south suburbs, but his former customers recognize him and still say hello when they spot him at True Value. Meanwhile, he's suggested adding some of the products that made Mount Greenwood Hardware successful to the shelves across the street.
Such items include specialty plumbing and electrical supplies, which proved to be a niche for Mount Greenwood Hardware. Zimmerman and others in his store also satisfied with many special requests and had a knack for walking homeowners through do-it-yourself projects.
Maloney said many of those hard-to-find items are still available after being tucked away in the Mount Greenwood Hardware's basement for decades. He's hoping dealers and contractors buy up such items before the store is sold.
"There's a lot left — plumbing, electrical and a lot of collectible stuff," he said.
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