Cash mob finds new store owner

The cash mob that descended on Newtown Hardware House on April 28, 2012, gave the store an economic boost and lots of publicity, but it wasn’t enough to rescue the 143-year-old store. Owner Dave Callahan announced this summer that he was closing up shop due to the economy, competitive pressureand a wish to retire at age 70.

But the Buck County, Pa., store had gained some notoriety through the cash-mob event, and once word of its demise got out, an interested -- and unidentified -- party stepped forward to inquire about the business.

“He heard …. we were closing and came to me and just said he didn't want to see it close, and we reached a deal,"  Callahan told the Bucks County Courier Times. "I expect the store to change owners about Oct.1, but that's an estimate because there is a lot of paperwork to do. The transition should be seamless. People probably won't even notice the difference.”

The new owner will be only the fifth in the history of the store, which opened in 1869.