Crest Hardware & Urban Garden Center, a beloved hardware store in Williamsburg, will turn out the lights forever on Friday, August 30. Bereft customers said their goodbyes during a wake and a second line march last week, noting the void the legacy Brooklyn business will leave after 62 years in business.
For decades, Crest Hardware, at 558 Metropolitan Ave., was more than just a place to buy nails, paint and tools. Located in the heart of Williamsburg, the family-owned hardware store was a neighborhood staple, serving not just as a hub for D.I.Y. enthusiasts, but also as a space that embraced the community.
The partner group that owns the building chose not renew the store's lease. Joseph Franquinha, part of that partnership group and the sole owner of Crest, said he was outvoted by his family on the closing. The building would likely get torn down and developed into apartments, he told Brownstoner.
"Crest was a part of the community and we were able to utilize this space for something other than retail or specific commerce, have it be a promotional space, a community space, a gathering space," said Franquinha.
Franquinha said there were eight weddings held in the gardening center, two of which he officiated.
Between the wrenches and widgets, Franquinha recalled the fashion brand Madewell conducting a pop-up shop in 2017 when the workwear brand relaunched it's menswear collection at the store.
"The brand had workwear history, so instead of doing a show for fashion week in the city, they brought it back to its roots, to the hardware store," he said.
Franquinha said he would mostly miss the people he interacted with every day.
"The plants bring energy, but it's the people who have poured incredible energy into the space," he said. "That positive energy can be passed on and people have taken it in and out of the store, however much of it they need, they take it with them."
Franquinha said he decided not to reopen in another location, noting that the connection he built over decades would be hard to rebuild.
"The community connection to the store was deeper than he imagined," he said.
Brooklynites have one more day to grab some memories and bid farewell to Finlay, the store's parrot, and Franklin, the shop's mascot pig, before the lights go out for the last time.
