Grand Avenue Hardware closure and Frattallone's takeover (2006)
Jim Solin's Grand Avenue Hardware closed in February 2006 after 75 combined years of service by the Solins. The building, owned by the Smolik Family Trust, had been a hardware store since Albert Smolik opened it in 1915.
Frattallone's Hardware, a local family chain, negotiated with the building owner and reopened the location as an Ace Hardware store in April 2006.
The Frattallones operated the store for two decades, maintaining the site's hardware heritage and its role as a neighborhood anchor.
This parallel shows that the Grand Avenue location has survived ownership transitions before. It also highlights the Frattallones' stated commitment to keeping a hardware store on that end of Grand.
