Jim and Eveylan Luebbe of Garland pick up a hose at the Ace Hardware section in Seward’s Pac ‘N’ Save.
Pac ‘N’ Save in Seward has found a new way to serve the community.
Four weeks ago, the grocery store added Ace Hardware aisles to its selection, according to Tim Folkerts, the Ace manager.
Folkerts said Pac ‘N’ Save has about 20,000 hardware items in the store, including basic items like screwdrivers and hammers to plumbing and electrical items. He said the store has the ability to order 80,000 more items from the Ace warehouse.
“Everyone I talk to, they’re blown away by the amount of product we’re able to fit in the area,” Folkerts said.
The Ace section of the store has been open for about four weeks, Folkerts said, but it took about two months to get everything prepared. And Pac ‘N’ Save Owner Paul Mueller said adding the hardware section was three years in the making.
“It was a lot of hard work and a lot of effort,” Folkerts said.
He said Pac ‘N’ Save had to rearrange items that were originally in the hardware area and extend their aisles for their grocery products.
Mueller said by extending their shelving and adding shelves around the store, Pac ‘N’ Save added around 2,000 grocery items in addition to adding the Ace Hardware section.
“People assume we lost product, and that’s not true at all,” Folkerts said.
Folkerts said the hardware employees work the Ace area from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday in order to help contractors and homeowners who are early risers.
Mueller said that people can still buy hardware items, even if there are no hardware employees available.
“We’ve really been paying attention with detail,” Folkerts said.
Fokerts and the Ace employees have gone through Ace’s customer service training course, Folkerts said, which helped them understand the product and how to better help customers.
The Ace employees are already planning programs to help homeowners with their lawns, Folkerts said. He is working on an annual fertilizer program that lets customers order four seasonal fertilizers in advance so they are delivered to the customer on time for each season.
Mueller said the store has around 4,000 square feet of hardware aisles. He added that Ace has been trying this new concept of creating hardware areas in grocery stores. It creates a one-stop shop for customers.
“We felt that Seward needed it,” Mueller said.
Folkerts said this is an effort to be convenient as possible.
“We’re trying to come up with different ideas,” Folkerts said. “The more we do for people, [it] helps build a relationship with the people of Seward.”
