Moses Lake Ag Supply holds grand opening
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald Managers and owners put a little muscle into cutting the chain at the Ag Supply-Ace Hardware grand opening Friday.
MOSES LAKE — Owners of the new Ag Supply Ace Hardware cut the chain – yes, a chain, not a ribbon – Friday as part of a weekend of grand opening activities.
The store, about 18,000 square feet, is located at 601 S. Pioneer Way, in the old Hastings location.
Ag Supply has been open since early April, but the streamers-and-big-balloons-out-front, specials-and-demonstrations grand opening was last weekend. Ag Supply has eight Ace Hardware locations, said company executive Al Sanow, and one that’s both hardware and feed. Moses Lake is a competitive market, said Ag Supply operations manager Lonnie Kirk in an earlier interview, but that applies to all company locations. Moses Lake fits the company’s market, Kirk said; it has other locations in the Columbia Basin.
“We try to have win-win partnerships,” Sanow said, and its arrival in Moses Lake is one of those partnerships. The company emphasizes customer service, he said, and works to make that one of its strengths. Company employees like to help people solve problems – and that's important, because lots of customers are in search of help to solve problems, he said.
Ag Supply-Ace Hardware has a lot of things hardware – tools and paint (including brands exclusive to Ace, Clark + Kensington and Amy Howard), bolts, screws and other fasteners, electrical supplies and replacement light fixtures for consumers and electricians, lots of plumbing supplies including fixtures like sinks and toilets. Ag Supply carries cat and dog food, birdseed, canning supplies, potting soil and cast iron cookware. Ag Supply-Ace will be able to make keys with computer chips, as well standard keys.
It’s the exclusive dealer for Stihl power tools and Big Green Egg barbecues. “We want to be the barbecue destination,” Kirk said. The company also sells other charcoal and gas grills, barbecue tools and general barbecue supplies.
Some merchandise is common to all Ag Supply stores, Sanow said, but after that each store tries to tailor what it sells to each individual community.
The company is based in Wenatchee and has outlets in Wenatchee, Quincy and Ephrata, as well as Brewster, East Wenatchee, Sultan, Puyallup and Bremerton.