Store History

You’ve Got A Lot More Going For You With Hank, Hardware Hank!

The fall of 1990 Craig and Kay Buckalew moved their family of three sons (Brandon, Cody, & Matt) from north eastern Montana to open up a Hardware Hank store in East Grand Forks. They were a young family, Brandon in fourth grade, Cody in second grade, and Matt still a toddler. Throughout the years the store has had many changes.
 

It started out in the “White-mart mall” Where River Cinema is now located. In April of 1992 they had moved to the corner of Hwy 2 and 220 where the holiday gas station is now located. After the flood of ’97 Craig had borrowed an RV from a friend, parked it in the parking lot of the store, and after hours posted a sign on the door that said, “If you need help come get me from the RV, no matter the time.” Hardware Hank moved to its current location in the early winter of ’99.
 

The last Three years Craig and Kay’s oldest, Brandon, has been working in the store, growing into a position to one day take over the business. It’s a work in progress and it will be many years before Craig is ready to retire and Brandon is ready to take the reigns. Craig and Kay are very excited that one of their kids has taken an interest in the store. It’s the dream of many folks to have a child follow in their footsteps. Brandon is excited as well, saying, “They did the hard work of building the business to a success. If I can at least maintain it, I’d be happier than working for someone else.”