Nutter Hardware among Ace's coolest stores

Pretty fly for a hardware guy By NATE ELLIS Wednesday August 27, 2014 11:28 AM

A devotion to customer service and the melding of old-fashioned features with cutting-edge technology recently earned Nutter Hardware a very hip designation.

Of the 4,850 locally owned and operated Ace Hardware stores throughout the world, Nutter Hardware in the Kingsdale Center in Upper Arlington is among the "coolest."

So says the Ace Hardware Corp., which doesn't rank the top six but recently included the local store in its loftiest of lists.

"The store's ambience takes customers back to a simpler time, with its old-school style reminiscent of a classic general store, with its functioning potbelly stove and old-fashioned ceiling fans," a recent Ace Hardware press release stated. "Part of that traditional piece of Americana is created through the simple things the shop offers, such as vintage soft drinks, free popcorn and, of course, amazing customer service.

"If you come into Nutter Hardware with a project a little too big to handle, you may end up leaving with a lot more help than you expected, thanks to the experience Chuck Nutter brings to his Ace store from his other business, Nutter Handyman Services."

Owner Chuck Nutter and Nutter Hardware, 3078 Kingsdale Center, celebrated four years in the business Aug. 24.

In addition to the "coolest" distinction, which Nutter said "just blew me away," the venture has fulfilled a nearly lifelong quest.

After 23 years in corporate America as a chemical engineer, Nutter started Nutter Handyman Services and quickly decided there was a hardware store void in Upper Arlington, where he has lived since 2003.

He also never lost track of boyhood memories of local hardware store employees who at times gave his father the know-how to perform do-it-yourself projects of all kinds when his dad was a farmer in northeast Ohio.

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Nutter Hardware among Ace's coolest stores