MESA, Ariz. — A Mesa hardware store that has been fighting to survive in post-pandemic times has made the difficult decision to close its doors permanently.
The closure hasn’t only had a major impact on the owners and employees financially, but it’s also taken a toll on them emotionally.
Phillip and Carol Wright are the owners of Lindsay Home & Hardware in Mesa.
“It was an opportunity that I had hoped for all my life,” he said.
They first opened in October of 2019 and planned on it being the beginning of something great.
“We were extremely excited,” she said.” It was going to be a fun adventure.”
But then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and while they were able to stay open as an essential store, they were left struggling.
“Everybody moved out of town, we had no business,” he said.
Sadly, they were never able to fully recover.
“People seem to really like us when they come in the store, but they just didn’t come in enough,” she said.
They were forced to make the heartbreaking decision to move on and close the store permanently.
It was a huge loss financially.
“I would say it’s a half a million... yeah,” she said. “It just didn’t pull up off the ground like we needed it to.”
But also emotionally, not only for the Wrights but also for their employees who are now looking for jobs.
“The realization has been hard,” she said. “It was like watching a toddler that can’t quite get up off the ground.”
Now they’re on a deadline to get all their inventory sold, as the space has already been rented out. Everything has to go.
Carol has a word of caution for anyone hoping to one day create a business like theirs with the current challenges at hand.
“Beware, it will be very expensive and there’s a lot of red tape to go through,” she said. “Online is a little easier.”
The Wrights said they will miss their customers the most, and of course, helping with all those fun DIY projects.
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