Hatboro's Village Hardware to Remain Open

A slice of small town America will remain on Hatboro's main street as the new owner of Village Hardware has decided to keep its doors open.

Following last month's death of store owner Al Wipplinger, his son, Bob, said people were asking about the "future" of the store his father had opened in Hatboro's downtown shopping district, after relocating from his original location at Village Mall in Horsham. 

"I wanted to let them know that I have decided to keep the store open along with our other location in Penndel," Bob Wipplinger told Patch. "We value our employees and customers and wanted to let them know that we appreciate the 30 years of business in the Hatboro-Horsham community and are looking forward to another 30 years."

Wipplinger, who worked at the Hatboro store until he and his father purchased a location in Penndel, Bucks County 14 years ago, said he will divide his time between both stores and will serve as owner and manager for now.

Hatboro's existing staff of four will remain the same, he said and hours of operation will stay just about the same, with the exception of closing at 5 p.m. on Saturdays instead of 6 p.m. 

Initially, Wipplinger said he had been "contemplating" closing the Hatboro store after "reviewing the store's poor sales," but, at least for now, decided against that. 

"I plan on expanding some areas that were in need of attention and updating stock and policies to make a fair go of it," he said. "We all know the stories of the vanishing old time hardware stores."