Ace Hardware to move into former Walgreens location

A small chain of Ace Hardware stores in the Midwest plans to add another unit -- this one in Duluth, Minn. -- by November, according to an article in the Duluth News Tribune. 

Craig Burggraf and his two brothers, who own Ace hardware stores in Grand Rapids, S.D.; Fosston, Minn.; and Grand Forks, N.D., recently purchased a former Walgreen’s location and are currently remodeling it, the newspaper reported. The 10,500-sq.-ft. building, constructed in 1991, will carry a full hardware assortment, Benjamin Moore paint, Craftsman tools plus a line of Stihl tools.

Downtown Duluth has been without a neighborhood hardware store since 2010, when an Ace Hardware operator closed. Prior to that, Daugherty Hardware closed in 2008.

Burggraf said he’s already been contacted by some former employees of Daugherty Hardware and the downtown Ace Hardware about jobs.