As I write each month about a different Northside business, my focus has been on supporting Northsiders and helping us as a community keep our money locally. To connect us to our neighbors who are doing cool and meaningful work. The stronger our local economy, the stronger our relationships, the stronger we are together.
I went to interview Darryl Weivoda at North End Hardware and Rental for the same purpose. While maybe a more visible business on the corner of Penn and Lowry, what I wasn’t expecting was what it means to leave a legacy.
Darryl has worked at North End in some capacity for the majority of his life. Working part-time as a teenager where he was able to walk to work, helping expand the original shop to include the Small Engine Repair business, eventually owning the business, and then the building.
As I sat there with Darryl hearing stories of customers who come in wanting to care for their home and feeling worried about the problems they are facing, he speaks to how much of a privilege it is to walk alongside them and help them find cost-effective solutions. Over and over our conversation turned toward what it means to be in service to the community. Even when we spoke about the Lowry redevelopment and how dozens of businesses got torn down, and some of those spaces still remain vacant, Darryl expressed concern about the neighborhood not having the resources it needs to be healthy and thriving.
Now it goes to say that when you live and work in the same neighborhood your whole life, it doesn’t mean you’ve made all the right moves or made the best choices. What it does mean is that you are human, working towards building community and a strong business network. But as I sat there with Darryl and heard him come back to service to the community over and over, I bore witness to his deep heart for the neighborhood and the Northside. Finding deep meaning in serving his community is why he will keep showing up to work even as he is working toward fully selling the business and embracing retirement.
Darryl asked me why I come to the shop. For me it’s simple. First, I always want to support local businesses, and second, I don’t live near my family so I don’t have parents, grandparents, or older siblings here to help me navigate home repair projects. The folks who work at North End are full of collective wisdom, ideas or strategies for getting projects done. Shopping there as a woman, they don’t make me feel ignorant or incapable. They treat me like an equal and help me solve problems. I also always appreciate the relationships that are built over time where we learn about each other’s lives and they ask how the garden is, or I ask how family members are.
It’s the knowledge, the kindness, the service and the connections that keep bringing me back.
For all these community connection points, it’s important to note that North End Hardware is also a full-service small engine repair shop and rents a wide variety of tools and equipment. This is especially helpful for homeowners who like to learn how to do their own repairs but don’t have the capital to invest in all the tools. They also do window and screen repair and key cutting.
While Darryl is looking to fully retire in the next few years, he is selling the business to his long-time employee John Guion keeping with the tradition of selling to an employee.
The announcement to sell the business to John was covered by the Camden News and also the Star Tribune in an article titled “North End Hardware owner calls it a career” which is a lovely tribute to the man and the business if you have five minutes to read it online.
Darryl has no worries about the integrity and productivity of the hardware store in John’s hands. Even as Darryl has cut back on his hours after a few medical incidents, John keeps the shop running smoothly and effectively.
As you look toward repairs, renovations, fixes or new projects in or around your house consider visiting the personal, friendly and service-oriented corner hardware store right here in the neighborhood.