Seventy years ago, Edmund Smith’s grandfather, George Mozer, founded Yardville Supply on Yardville-Groveville Road. Located on six acres, the 7,000-square-foot Yardville location is the anchor of the Smith Ace Hardware stores.
Yardville Supply manager Mike Curtis describes the 5,000 Ace Hardware Stores in the United States “kind of like a franchise, but also a co-op.” Most locations are privately owned. Some, like the five stores that comprise Smith Ace Hardware, are a chain of stores.
“You own your own ACE Hardware, and you have shares in the company as a whole,” Curtis said.
As a junior at Rider University, Curtis answered an ad for a summer stock boy. Fourteen years later, he has risen in the organization and is now the manager of the Yardville location, and helps out in the other sites on an as-needed basis.
“It is a real family-oriented business,” Curtis said. “A lot of the Smiths work here. They treat employees great.”
Smith’s brothers, George and Leigh are also in the family business, but not his children. Three of his children are teachers, the youngest son is an oceanographer. Smith himself left the family business to work for a concrete company in Vineland, but came back with his brother George after there were some financial issues with the trust company, which are all in the past now. Smith says they have over 100 employees between the five stores.
“Turnover is minimal,” Smith said. “We offer benefits for all, including an employee 401K. We are invested in our employees. A lot of people retire from here.”
Yardville Supply strives to provide the best price for the best quality. The difference between Yardville Supply and other companies is selection, Smith said.
“Everything we sell is good stuff,” he said.
As an example, Smith cites Cambridge Pavers, which are manufactured in New Jersey and are top quality, he said.
“When you are investing $10,000 to $15,000 you want good quality,” Smith said. “Do it right the first time. Our emphasis is on quality.”
At Yardville Supply, there is over 10,000 square feet of pavers on display. They ask their contractors to provide pictures of smaller jobs to better help customers visualize what their backyard will look like.
“We’ll calculate what we need,” Smith said. “We have 20 installers. We give you three different names. If they don’t call you back, tell us, and they are off of the list. We’ve been around for 70 years. We are going to make sure you are going to do well.”
They also sell Kraft Tools, with a 26-foot selection of mason tools. Yardville Supply and Smith Ace Hardware stores also have the largest supply of Weber Grills in the area.
“We stock every kind they make,” said Smith, including different colors. “We deliver and assemble them for free.”
Store manager Curtis offered some advice for customers looking to make the most of their money. First, become an Ace rewards member in order to benefit from special sales and coupons. There are no more mail-in rebates, they are now handled instantly. Second, always fill your propane tank, never do an exchange. They give you a three-quarter full tank for the same price. There is also a loyalty program on propane tanks: buy five fills and the sixth is free.
Third, while Yardville Supply might be a fraction of the size of its competitors, it is fully-stocked and happy to place special orders. The store receives multiple truckloads a week, and is backed by two 700,000-square-foot Ace warehouses.
Though it might be hard to think about during the summer, Yardville Supply is one of the largest salt distributors. It is open year round, even when it snows.
Yardville Supply is located at 47 Yardville-Groveville Road in Hamilton. Phone: (609) 585-5000. Web: yardvillesupply.com.
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