I am not handy. I am not a do-it-yourselfer. Nor am I a contractor, plumber, electrician, roofer or finish carpenter.
And yet, my new favorite store is….
Menards.
ICYMI: Menards is a chain of home improvement centers primarily in the Midwest. It’s privately held and headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
It was founded in 1960 by John Menard Jr. The company employs 45,000 people and has an annual revenue of 8.7 billion dollars.
And even though I don’t need a toilet, patio doors or Dutch Boy paint, I’m there almost once a week now.
Here’s the reason why.
Their candy. This is only a partial display of the goods. They have everything. And Crows!
And check out their prices. I’m not paying $1.39 at Walgreen’s anymore.
Hell NO.
Caveat Emptor Sidebar: Steer clear of the Raisinets. Even if you are tempted by the dark chocolate variety. I picked up a box to take to the movies and it felt light to me. Not a “full pour.” Consider yourselves warned.
They also carry everything from groceries to toy trucks. (This Christmas I bought my son Nick a Mountain Dew truck and my grandson Sam a Marine personnel carrier there. Both went over like gangbusters.)
And I drool over the paper towel prices, the Windex, the Tide Pods, the WD40. I long to buy every item in their vast inventory.
In fact, Menards makes me sorry that I don’t have a workshop in my apartment.
But I have just discovered the coolest thing they have just a few weeks ago.
This.
OMG! A key-making machine.
Remember the old guy at Bess Hardware on Willow Road in Northfield?
You’d bring him a key and he’d labor and labor over it.
And invariably make it wrong.
You’d get it home and it wouldn’t open the door.
Rats! A return trip to Bess Hardware was always necessary.
But this innovation is the niftiest. The Boyfriend needed another key and I went with him on this errand. Naturally, I was expecting some old geezer with a rickety machine to painstakingly copy the original.
Instead TB marched right up to the kiosk, selected the type of blank he wanted (Cubs, multi-colored etc.) swiped his credit card and in about a minute…
A brand new key fell into the slot.
I was blown away.
And the best part about it?
When we got it home, the key actually worked.
I love Menards.
Does Leslie know that you shop at Menards?
What about your image? Now that you are
a working lady I would have thought that you
would be retooling at Bloomingdales.
Anyhow – good for you
Do they have Goobers? If so, I’m there
Luv ya
No, I haven’t broken the blue collar news to Leslie Hindman yet. I doubt she’d be upset though. She wouldn’t know to what I was referring. And they DO have Goobers! The next time I’m there, I’ll grab you a box. You can bring it to the Lyric. Thanks, Jess.
As a veteran I receive an additional 10% discount at Home Depot.
So, if you’re a vet, all you have to do is show your ID and you receive an additional 10% off….even on sale items!
Good to know, Bernie. But do they have Dots? Thanks, my friend. For your service- and the comment.
I don’t know if they have Dots.
I’m watching my girlish figure!!
I hear you. Got to stay in shape for camp!
Sorry, Ellen, but I wouldn’t buy one Snickers bar from Menards. http://gawker.com/union-hating-retailer-vows-not-to-build-store-as-long-a-1769085142
Oh no! 😱 My cheap candy, my Crows… now politically incorrect. I’m in a moral dilemma. (And I’m going to the movies on Saturday.) Thanks, Fred. I think. 😰
My first job was a four-year run working at Downing’s Ace Hardware in Colorado. I absolutely LOVED that job. In addition to the usual problem solving you’d expect working at a hardware store, we also sold sporting goods, housewares, bikes – sort of the general store of the town. It was so much fun making special orders and getting the best margins you could negotiate with customers – to the glee of the store owners John and Debbie. It was on the job training in capitalism. I went to college with the intent of opening an Ace Hardware when I graduated. However, in that time along came Lowes and Home Depot and the big chains. They dazzled people with low prices. Today they stun people with poor service and it seems like more people are returning to their neighborhood hardware store. But my early run as the “Helpful Hardware Man” will always be a good memory.
You’ll always be the “helpful numbers man” to me, Kev. Saving money on your taxes? Much more important than making keys. Thanks for the fascinating look into your past. 😊
As a contractor I shop there daily Ellen. You think it’s great now, wait til you get the 11% rebate weeks. You will become a daily customer as well. Happy shopping.
Thanks, Dale. I’ll have to buy a lot of candy, but so what?