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“Dream Ace” owner comments on liquidation

2/20/2018

Gower Talley, winner of the “Dream Ace” contest in 2007, tried to explain his decision to close Gleannloch Ace Hardware in the Houston suburb of Spring, Texas, with a March 18 posting on the Ace Forum, the co-op’s employee message board.

Talley’s statement, reproduced on the Hardlines Forum and made in response to comments from other Ace retailers, read, in part:

“We went into this for the long haul. We bought the house behind our store. We will lose money when we sell it. Liquidation was an absolutely last resort option and was not my idea. We will be fortunate to escape this experience with the wherewithal to pay our debits, move home and start over. The cost of occupancy of our rented building here is well over $300K per year.”

Talley said he had vetted the statements through his lawyer and would make no further comments.

Talley had announced earlier on his personal Web site, thetexasboardroom.com, that he would be liquidating his assets in Houston and returning to Portland, Ore., in the spring.

Acall to Gleannloch Ace Hardware last week by HCN confirmed that the store will begin to liquidate merchandise on March 23.

Gleannloch Ace Hardware, a 15,500-sq.-ft. store, opened in June 2007. Talley had beat out more than 5,400 hopeful entrepreneurs in a nationwide contest and was awarded the $1 million Ace store.

When reached for comment, Ace Hardware spokesman Christopher Boniface said, “As Gower Talley noted on his Web site, thetexasboardroom.com, he plans to exit the hardware business and pursue other opportunities in Oregon. We wish Gower and his family well in their future endeavors.”

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