The relatively new owners of OB Hardware – which has to be the oldest businesses in Ocean Beach – are moving on and are looking for local buyers to take the storefront over.
Michael DeEmidio and his business partner Michael Grimes bought OB Hardware from Carl and Carolyn Weidetz in 2018. The Weidetzs owned the century-old Ocean Beach Paint and Hardware at 4871 Newport Avenue for half that time. The business – which has become OB’s most iconic, locally-owned storefront – opened in 1919, and has carried tools, gardening, plumbing and electrical supplies as well as paints ever since.
DeEmidio told the Beacon:
“After a lot of heavy-hearted consideration, my wife and I have decided to move out of California to be closer to family. We are reaching out to the community in an effort to find someone to whom we can pass the OB Hardware baton. Ideally, someone invested in the community who wants to care for this legacy and leave their mark. We will be relocating this fall, so it is pressing that any interested parties step up now.”
“When I decided to jump in, they (Weidetzs) were going out of business. It was worth the time and effort. I left my corporate job and I don’t regret it. We’ve managed to rebuild the store.”
It’s in a much better position than it was when we took over, financially speaking. It’s more functional. We’ve got a lot of inventory. We’ve been here and the community loves it. We’ve got a lot of momentum. We’re hoping we can find someone to step in and kind of do what we’ve done.”
The ideal party to buy his hardware business, DeEmedio said, would be “someone with a retail background and a good business sense. We would prefer someone from the community that kind of knows the store at least, knows what the community is about.”
DeEmedio said there are many advantages to owning a mom-and-pop in a beach town like OB, adding he’s tried, as much as possible, to reciprocate the community’s goodwill.
“People here know our employees will help them as soon as they get through the door. It’s really a joy. I love spending time here. You come to work and learn a ton. And not just from the business side. I’ve learned the world of hardware, and it’s just invaluable for life.”
There has been a big addition to the store since he and his co-partner took it over.
“Our whole backroom now is gardening. And we’re not planning on scaling back on inventory. Gardening season is coming up and we’ve got a great garden section now.”
“We carry everything from fasteners, screws and nails to plumbing, electrical and kitchen items. We do screen repairs. We make keys. We joke that ‘We have a little bit of everything, but we don’t have a lot of anything.’ We’re really a one-stop shop.”
DeEmedio’s targeted June 1 as the date by which he needs to find a buyer for the business.
Anyone interested in purchasing OB Hardware should contact local broker Mitch McGinley (404) 272-9108.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
The owners have changed to a local broker: Mitch McGinley (see article for contact details).
I can just imagine the theft that must occur there on a daily basis, I had a small business years ago in OB (remember the Antique Mall), it was a constant battle to stop the thieves, most of them were local, I had to mark everything up 200% to break even, but guess what? I got the last laugh, I would sell Antique rocking chairs $250 a pop, I had a wholesaler I bought them from from a place in OC that sold unpainted raw furniture for $50 a pop, I paint the chairs throw them under a heat lamp, sand them down, shallac them, sand them, put them under a sprinkler for a few hours, then heat lamp them, brand the underside of rocking chair Augustus Johnson 1804 (google him), and people go nuts! I sold a dozen a month and kept my head above water, anyone want to buy pure silverware pre civilwar? Hit me up.
So…in other words, fraud.