Community rallies behind Ace dealer

An Ace Hardware store that burned down in an Atlanta suburb is being inundated with offers of help and free meals from local citizens and businesses, according to an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Handy Ace Hardware store in Tucker was destroyed by a fire two weeks ago, a blaze that is still under investigation. Local restaurants -- including LongHorn Steakhouse, Roly Poly and Chick-fil-A -- began sending over lunch for the store’s 28 employees. Cakes and pastries were delivered to the Handy Ace’s temporary office, set up across the street.

Greater Good Barbecue has already held a benefit that raised several thousand dollars for the store’s workers. The owner of a fitness studio across the street is planning a Zumba-thon fundraiser Feb. 9 in the parking lot.

Handy Ace Hardware has been doing business in Tucker for half a century. Operated by store owner Harold Smith, a third-generation hardware dealer, the business is housed in a former bowling alley. The Smith family also own stores in in Brookhaven and Dacula, Ga., according to the article. They intend to rebuild the store in Tucker.