Artesia’s Kurt Hardware to close
Kurt TrueValue Hardware, an Artesia Boulevard mainstay, will close next year after its owners decided to “go out on a high note.” Photo
It’s been a bittersweet week for Leland Hyde, the owner of Kurt TrueValue Hardware. On Halloween, he announced his intention to close the business that had been in his family for 32 years and, in his words, to embark on a new chapter. Kurt Hardware is planned to close at the end of January.
“It’s the feeling of the family. We’re on top right now, riding a high, and it’s best to go out on top,” Hyde said. “It’s a tough thing, to end a business, but we decided that going out on a high note was the best way to go.”
His announcement comes alongside plans by him and his siblings to sell their land at the corner of Artesia Boulevard and Mackay Lane, which includes both Kurt Hardware and Yanagi Japanese Bistro. The listing comes as Redondo Beach’s Artesia corridor is receiving renewed focus from City Hall and local business to raise the area’s profile.
Kurt Hardware has been run by Leland and his wife Tina for 10 years, and has been in the Hyde family since 1986, when his father Dick purchased the business. A hardware store, Hyde said, had been in the space since at least the 1940s. But he knew, with no children of his own and his brother’s children uninterested in the family business, that it was time to let go.
It’s weighed heavily on Hyde’s heart to know that closing Kurt Hardware would leave its neighborhood without a local hardware store.
“We tried for the better part of the year to find a buyer for the store, discussing with many different people, multi-store chains, and smaller hardware stores, but nothing really came of it,” Hyde said.
Hyde’s five employees, he said, have offered to stay with him until the end, and in turn, he is working to find them jobs elsewhere.
Kurt Hardware’s customers have shown a similar loyalty, which is something else Hyde will miss.
“We’ve been a part of their lives for all these years, and they’ve been part of ours. It’s more than just a business, we’re a neighborhood,” Hyde said.
“I’m sorry to see them go, and Leland is a really good friend of mine. We’re going to miss him at the North Redondo Beach Business Association, and so many other things,” said Councilman John Gran, who represents the area. “They’re really good folks, and they’re really good for Redondo Beach.”
Both Hyde and his real estate agent Mo Sharfi report that the land — listed at $4.1 million for 0.44 acres — have had a lot of interest, all of which will be evaluated seriously. But he admits that he would love to see an owner come in that would be a local landlord, the way he and his wife have managed the store after his father’s passing.
“We need more involvement, and more meaningful involvement from the owners in the community…being active in the community, having an ear for what’s going on, because when you’re not here, you don’t know,” Hyde said.
The decision, Hyde repeated, has been very difficult, but the response from customers has been heartwarming. The shop’s Facebook page has seen an influx of comments, well-wishes and memories shared, while a memory book at the front counter has a few messages asking for them to please not close.
“I really am touched by the sentiments of the community. You never know how much you mean to somebody,” Hyde said. “But we decided that going out on a high note was the best way to go…we’ve worked really hard and really succeeded. It’s just time for us to do something else.”