Scheidt Hardware will be 110 years old in June, and unless a buyer is found it will close it this summer. Bob Scheidt, third generation to run the store, has been there since the early 1970s.
“Times move on,” Scheidt said. “No matter what comes in, it will probably be more profitable for the city in the long run.” He said he’ll lease the space, which is approximately 4,000 square feet.
“Like people say, ‘I love coming to an old hardware store’—they get fewer and fewer, because most people are going to Home Depot,” he said. “I feel bad, leaving the customers. I don’t feel bad about everybody else.”
Scheidt said Monday he looked up how many key blanks he had sold in February—it was 52.
“Hmm,” he said. “Looked at dozens of eggs, we sold 53 dozens of eggs. So, so far this month I’m selling more eggs. Last month I sold 192 key blanks and 153 dozen eggs. Key blanks beat them but not by much. Hell of a deal when your eggs are a best seller in a hardware store.”
Scheidt said he won’t blame it on Lowe’s and Home Depot, like other small stores have.
“I never bought that story. It’s just poor management on their part,” he said. “And now it’s poor management on my part—I really don’t care anymore,” he said. “They didn’t get put out of business—just got old, got tired
“If I was still in my 40s the shelves would be full, we’d be making new displays, we’d be doing something,” he said.
Scheidt said the 1970s and 80s, which many assumed were bad years for Maplewood, really weren’t. He said the street was vacant, but business was always decent.
“People were doing rehab; I loved it,” he said. “You had to either go to Central Hardware or here—had two active hardware stores at the time.”
Scheidt said Maplewood got old. “People said nobody is moving into Maplewood—I always said, nobody is moving out of Maplewood. Maplewood was such a nice town, nobody left. There was no turnover in Maplewood, and that hurt our housing stock. Houses have to turn over to improve.”
He said he knew all the families, not because they were customers, but because he grew up with their kids. See also: Maplewood History: Scheidt Hardware’s Roger. Over and Out.
“Good place to do business, people were loyal, customers were old-time customers,” he said. “We always treated them fair and they always came back.”
Scheidt has a farm in Lonedell, MO, which he said he plans to fix up and sell and then he’ll “be a vagabond.”
“Been tied to the hardware store and Maplewood for 60 some odd years,” he said. “Now it’s time for me to see what else is out there.”
Roger McCreight, who had worked at Scheidt for 40 years retired in October. Seven-year employee, Eileen Lencz, is planning to retire in June.
I frequented Bob’s store many times when my wife and I were rehabbing an old house on Myrtle in Maplewood back in the 80’s. Many of the windows in that house have Bob’s custom cut glass, gold radiator paint, radiator values, plumbing and electrical parts. The best customer service ever at a hardware store. If Bob didn’t have it, he’d help you find it. And the store was one block from my house a lot closer than Central Hardware.
I hate going to the big box stores. I love this little place that has everything, including helpful, friendly, knowledgeable people. I will truly miss this store. Sorry to see you go. Thank you for being a part of Maplewood for all these years. Thank you!
This is so sad, Bob is the best! I’ve roamed up to the store too close to closing time and found that he’s shut down the register. “No problem” he’ll tell me, just pay me for it later. Find something weird in your house and don’t know what to do? Bob probably knows what it is and how to fix it. Buy something and it doesn’t work out, just bring it back on up. Can’t find the receipt? Well, that doesn’t really matter because Bob knows you and he’ll refund you manually.
That being said, I’m guilty of going to lowes and home depot because Bob is closed on Sundays or I need to get a bunch of supplies and I know Bob won’t have everything.
I’m glad he’ll be able to see new places and explore the world, he’ll be missed and I really hope he can find a good buyer for the store. It would be a shame to see it go away.
It’s what a hardware store should be – nails sold by the pound, not in plastic bags that have more that you will ever use. Same with screws and bolts and nuts, one tiny bolt if that is all you need. And the most priceless thing of all, reliable advice and help when you have a problem.
I sure hope a buyer is found. We have been buying our chicken feed there. I would love to see it stay open. One can run right in and find something quickly – unlike a big box store.
I think I’m going to cry. Congrats to Bob for retiring, but I will seriously miss this store. Best hardware store in St Louis, hands down.