UPDATE: The new owners are local OB family guys: Michael DeEmedio and Michael Grimes – Congrats to all !
In what will be some of the best news this year so far for OBceans is the news that the OB Hardware has been successfully sold and will remain open. The 100-year old business was just sold with all lease issues worked out.
Carl and his spouse Carolyn Weidetz had been set to close the iconic storefront down after 50 years and retire.
But with the publicity the OB Rag and other media outlets gave the store over the last few months, apparently some folks were geared to buy it and prevent it from closing.
And that is what has happened, according to Carolyn Weidetz in a phone interview with the OB Rag this morning.
The new owners, according to Carolyn, will keep the current employees.
Carl and Carolyn had announced back in October 2018 they would be shutting down sometime in February and retiring as they maintained their home in Spring Valley. But with the sale, they’ll stick around, she said, and help the new owners – who have yet to be identified – through March.
Carolyn said:
“We’re so glad. Relieved. Happy for the community. It’s been just a wonderful thing to know the hardware store will still be there.”
Update: I called Carl a little after 1pm and he informed me the names of the two guys who bought his business are “local, family boys” he said, “we call them Michael and Mike.” They live in OB and are Michael De Endiro and Michael Grimes. Congrats to them.
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ll talk to Carl later today – Monday – to find out who bought the business. This is such great news. And OBceans need to show up and demonstrate their love for the store – and actually buy stuff.
“and actually buy stuff.”
Yes! Many businesses fail the first year, and the new ownership is almost like a new business.
Something you may not know: they do an excellent job of repairing window screens. Bring in the old one, come out with a new one.
Waiting to see if any of the media outlets who pick up this breaking news story credit the OB Rag.
Yippee!!!
I was excited to see something else go there. They can’t seem to duplicate keys correctly the first time.
Will be interesting to see who still shops there at inflated prices when Target moves in.
LOL – yeah, have had that same problem, but up against everything else, small potatoes. Don’t be a buzzkill Michael, geez.
I’ve had 10+ keys done there over the years, never had a problem.
I disagree. Their prices are too cheap on so many things, mainly the small stuff. I keep telling them to raise them, there’s no reason for them to be cheaper than Home Depot, as we should all be willing to pay a little more for the convenience.
If you can’t afford to support local businesses like this then you can’t afford to live here.
Yay!! So happy to read this! Haha, don’t know what kind of ‘excitement’ Michael (above) was harboring- another microbrewery, restaurant, tourist shop, or big chain? Nevermind, I guess he gets Target, but I really hope locals will continue to patronize the hardware store- OB at its best! :-)
I would welcome any business which stays open past 4:30. It’s great they found someone to support them. Still wish something else went in there that is available to the working population.
“The working population”
You mean the kind of people who require tools and hardware at 9am?
Pretty sure real contractors are at the job site by then. That’s why HD opens up so early.
I would suggest you pop into OB Hardware and speak with one of the many real contractors that are making purchases throughout the day.
I would love to, but that would require me to take a vacation day in order to sit around OB Hardware….you know, because they’re closed when most people go to/return from work.
I’ve always looked at OB Hardware as a place to buy a garden hose on a Saturday, or for a retiree to buy some tool in the middle of the day that they can’t find in their garage. It would be great if ACE Hardware moved in now that they’re leaving Liberty Station. It would create more jobs and better serve the community.
You can get keys copied correctly the first time at 7/11. It’s cheaper, more reliable and you can visit any 7/11 and have the key reproduced. Pretty cool.
I would greatly recommend taking that vacation day! It would dramatically change your perception on the importance of OB Hardware to this community beyond what you assume is occurring.
You would also notice that there is no shortage of employment in OB these days.
I can only speak from my own experience regarding key duplication, which is to say I’ve never had an issue.
Not sure how many contractors are shopping there unless they’re doing odd jobs specifically in OB.
During the week I’m lucky f I can sneak in there at opening on my way out of OB.
I’m sure the new owners would be glad to hear suggestions on how they can better serve the needs of the customers.
The names of the new owners are : Michael DeEmedio and Michael Grimes and they are local OB family guys.
Now that the new owners have stepped up to preserve an OB institution, it’s time for all of us OBecians to step up and use OB Hardware for all our hardware needs. If we have to pay a little more, so what? We are preserving a locally owned small business and reducing our carbon footprint by not driving to Home Depot. We should all savor this victory for our community. Hip, Hip, Hooray!!!!
Hear Hear! :-)
Well said Craig!
Congratulations, Mike & Michael and a heartfelt thank you for keeping OB Hardware open.
YAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congrats to Carl, Caroline, Michael and Mike!!!!
Good to hear. Carl deserves to take some time away and reap the fruits of his labor. I knew Carl back when he was an employee there and was doing locksmithing as well; mid to late 70’s. Good guy. Glad he was able to purchase the shop and keep it going. And happy to hear it was sold and new owners plan to continue it. great to see some of old ob still in new ob… memories live on today instead of just the past. Congratulations to all involved.
so excited about this – I was really sad it was closing!!!! I would love it if they stayed open a little later though
Ok but Carl has to come out of retirement next time I need screens made.
I want to teleport Michael to Germany where the blue laws mean most stores are closed after 6pm and the entire weekend.
I actually just got back from Europe. Blue laws are mostly a southern thing, and to a lesser extent, Austrian and German. It’s an unwritten law and applies to Sundays only. Also, the cutoff is 8pm. Considering OBH is open for fewer hours already, I would take that trade in a heartbeat.
I see they loosened the laws quite a bit since when I lived there.
Back then, most stores, even chain grocery stores, closed at 6 or 6:30 on weekdays and 1 or 2pm Saturdays. Even most gas stations were closed on Sundays.
I don’t remember places being closed on Sundays by law in Southern Europe, but they often had strange siesta hours, so would be open 8-11:30 and 2 to 6:30.
Home Depot is not cheap. Compare with Wal-Mart and you’ll see this. The reason to go there is they are open late, have a wide selection, and have several big fat adorable cats roaming around the garden section.
Trust me here, I have spent a lot of time/money at OB Hardware, HD, Wal-Mart and Amazon. HD simply isn’t cheaper than OBH. Wal-Mart is, but its hardware section is small and you have to … go to Wal-Mart. Amazon is a mixed bag, mostly more expensive, but sometimes great deals.
Going to OB Hardware is a lifesaver don’t need the deal with Home Depot for small jobs.
Just as I thought, local TV station KUSI that ran with this story had nary a word about where they got the info. Thanks guys – we always give you credit, why can’t you reciprocate? Yeah, KUSI – talking about you. Maybe you’re still sore after we named KUSI the “Fox News of San Diego” years ago.
It’s not a beeg deal, but I’m tired of the way some TV and media outlets completely ignore the OB Rag and SD Reader when they pick up our stories.
Yep, agree with all of that, which is why I choose to get most of my domestic, real, non-fake news, from less conventional sources nowadays. Main stream media don’t think before they print or broadcast, they sensationalize the wrong aspects, and they market (super annoying) that they are always “first in the breaking news” which is almost always bulls#$% if its a local story…someone else ‘brought’ them to the scene.
Nevermind, keep on keepin’ on- your followers know who has the thumb on the carotid pulse, the others are just ankle waders :-)
It’s happened again. The Peninsula Beacon online just picked up the OB Rag story, and – you guessed it – failed to mention where they got the lede. Thanks Dave Schwab, nice of you to credit the source. 95% of the times we use a Beacon article, we credit them. No reciprocity at all. Is it that difficult to have to admit that the scruffy OB Rag broke the story?
I agree PENINSULA BEACON … Although the information is believed to be accurate
Online