Where can you get a grill, soy candles, coffee, garden supplies, power tools, and more all in one place? The answer is Elder’s Ace of Hardin Valley located right here in the 37932 community! We spoke with store manager, Tanner Robinson, to learn more about this one-stop shop.
Store Location and Hours
Elder’s Ace of Hardin Valley first opened on November 22, 2019. The store is located at 10009 Hardin Valley Road and is open Monday through Saturday, 7:30AM to 8PM, and Sunday, 10AM to 6PM.
Manager, Tanner Robinson, Leads from Experience with Elder’s Ace Hardware
Tanner started with Elder’s Ace Hardware 10 years ago at their store’s first location in Chattanooga when he was in high school. When he came to Knoxville to attend the University of Tennessee, he worked at the Bearden location for a few months, but left there to help open the North Broadway location in 2013. He worked there for five years and took over as the store manager in February 2018. While there, he helped open the South Knoxville and Rocky Hill locations. He transferred to the Dixie Lee location in December of 2018 and took over the role of store manager at that store. After spending seven months there, he came to the Hardin Valley location to help oversee the construction and layout of the store.
What’s in the name Elder’s Ace Hardware?
Maybe you’ve heard of Ace Hardware, but the name Elder’s Ace Hardware doesn’t come to mind as easily. Here’s the story behind the name: the majority of Ace Hardware locations are independently owned and operated. The company behind Elder’s Ace of Hardin Valley was started in 1969 by Elder Glenn on Highway 58 in Chattanooga and continued to grow and open more stores throughout the years. Now there are 22 stores between Knoxville, Chattanooga, and North Georgia.
Many Ace Hardware stores rebranded back in 2014, and Elder’s Ace Hardware took the opportunity to make a simple name change to honor their founder, Elder Glenn. Spearheaded by Elder’s son, Tom Glenn, to honor his father, the name changed in 2014. In fact, the Elder’s name seen on the front of the building is actually Elder Glenn’s signature! The company reached Knoxville in 2000, when they purchased the Dixie Lee Junction location. Now there are seven Elder’s Ace Hardware stores in the Knoxville area, including Townsend. Locations right here in Knox County include Halls, Bearden, Rocky Hill, Chapman Highway, and Hardin Valley (the Dixie Lee Junction location is just over the Knox County line outside of Farragut).
Three Stores in One Convenient Location
Elder’s Ace of Hardin Valley location offers customers the unique opportunity to shop three stores in one place! Tanner manages all three stores, but he relies on the Garden Manager, Tyler Hackworth, and the Mercantile Manager, Beth Bizik, to manage their respective departments.
The Gardens offers a wide variety of plants and staff are always willing to offer helpful tips to any new or experienced gardeners in the area. Elder’s Mercantile offers the customer a getaway experience like no other retailer. The Mercantile offers a wide variety of décor and local goods that you cannot find anywhere else in Knoxville.
Elder’s Mercantile has its own operating hours that are different from the hardware store and the nursery. Their hours are Monday through Saturday, 10AM to 6PM.
A Store Unlike Any Other Hardware Store
All the Elder’s Ace Hardware stores hold themselves to a higher standard than a typical hardware store. They strive to be the friendliest and most knowledgeable staff as possible because they want to be the community’s most helpful and trusted retail team. Their goal is to consistently please each customer. They offer big brand names, including Yeti, Costa, Big Green Egg, Weber, Traeger, Case Knife, and Stihl.
The Hardin Valley location has a few features that are not offered in other locations. The employees, approximately 40 most of the year with 55-60 during peak season, are ready and willing to help make your shopping experience enjoyable. They have the largest nursery out of any of the Elder’s Ace Hardware stores, and they’re able to carry some very nice brands that are not offered in some of the other locations. These brands include Tri Star Hat Co., Wyld Gear Coolers, Blue Ridge Knives, and Ego. They even recently added a fishing section to the store!
Another feature that sets the Hardin Valley location apart from other Elder’s Ace Hardware stores is that they have an entire store dedicated to Home and Gifts, whereas many other stores simply have a smaller dedicated space…that separate store is Elder’s Mercantile!
Customers even have the opportunity to support local business while shopping. The hardware store is proud to support local brands, and some customer favorites include Tri Star Hat co, K-Town Krack seasoning, Full Boar BBQ seasoning, and Reload seasoning.
Business During COVID-19 and Health/Safety Precautions
Even though it was Elder’s Ace of Hardin Valley’s first year of operation, the pandemic definitely let people know they were there. During the Spring, there were lines in the road just to pull in the parking lot. On any given Saturday or Sunday during the Spring season, employees and customers were struggling to find parking spaces.
Elder’s Ace of Hardin Valley has taken extra precautions to help ensure the safety and health of the staff and customers due to COVID-19. The store has installed glass shields at all the registers and service counters. In addition, they have distance markers on the ground at all the registers to encourage customers to social distance. Every hour, staff thoroughly clean high contact areas of the store, and they even have masks available for customers at their helpful hub at the front of the store.
Shop, Save, and Learn More
We are excited to spotlight such a unique store located in Hardin Valley. We encourage you to check them out, via in-store or online. Most of the store promotions can be found in store or online at www.acehardware.com, but Tanner encourages people to like them on Facebook at Elder’s Hardware Knoxville (https://www.facebook.com/EldersHardwareKnoxville and https://www.facebook.com/EldersHardwareHardinValley).
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