Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
DAVENPORT - Like several buildings lining Morgan Street, Hardy Hardware sits unoccupied. The former local stop for tools and hardware located at Eighth and Morgan Streets has been shuttered for over a year.
And ghosts of hammers and saws will linger within, as ownership plans to file for reorganized bankruptcy following a tumultuous 4-plus years of ownership under the Hardy family.
Hardy Hardware has been closed since April 2023, which is when the store was supposed to hold a grand re-opening. Ownership originally planned a transition to buy into becoming an Ace Hardware franchise, which was announced in Oct. 2022.
Ownership then was reportedly approved for a $1.8 million Small Business Administration loan, but owner Kari Hardy said negotiations with World Business Lenders "fell apart."
"Our loan was taken off the table," Hardy said.
According to a Facebook post from Hardy, WBL asked for $1.3 million in principle balance, prepayment penalties and interest penalties. She said the three properties are worth $910,000.
The Hardys then informed Ace Hardware they needed to back out of their deal and sell the store.
"Six months went by, and we had eight interested buyers that each made reasonable offers," Hardy said.
But the WBL refused them all, she said.
WBL didn't return requests for comment on why the organization allegedly made the refusals.
Hardy said the SBA was aware of her past, as well.
That past includes a 2008 guilty plea and conviction of eight counts of first-degree theft, one count of money laundering and one count of forgery in Pierce County. Hardy, under the name Kari Ann Seagraves, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for stealing over $409,000 from the company she worked for, DRK Development, between July 2005 and June 2007, Pierce County Superior Court and Lakewood Police Dept. records show.
The case was officially closed in July 2009, records show.
Hardy said she regrets that part of her life and paid full restitution while getting out of prison early on good behavior.
"I got in with a wrong crowd of people and, long story short, I was taking care of my deadbeat, drug addict boyfriend, his two brothers and his daughter," Hardy said. "Instead of standing up for myself and kick them all out, I chose (very regrettably) to listen to them and 'borrow' money from my job...I can't tell you how much I regret my actions in that time of my life."
The Hardys tried to keep the hardware store open, but Kris Freitas, Kari Hardy's son, collapsed and momentarily "died on us" at the Rocklyn Road grain elevators in Aug. 2023. According to Lincoln County Sheriff's Office records, he underwent 10 minutes of chest compressions.
Hardy said he was transferred to Deaconess ICU for 18 days. After that was an 11-day stint in the Northern Idaho Advanced Care Hospital and a 12-day inpatient rehabilitation stay at St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute.
"He will have a permanent deficit," Hardy said.
Kari Hardy said she's working full-time at Amazon to make ends meet.
This forced the bankruptcy hand, Hardy said. She said the family currently owes $950,000 on the business.
Unpaid property taxes totaling $3,636.52 haven't been paid since 2022, according to Treasurer's Office records.
Lincoln County Superior Court records also show two warrants for unpaid taxes filed against Hardy Hardware by the Dept. of Revenue, one in Aug. 2022 and one April 22, 2024. Those total $70,389.07.
Records also show separate suits filed by Do It Best Corporation in Allen Superior Court, Indiana, which claimed the Hardys owe the corporation $102,254.48 and haven't responded to inquiries regarding payment. Foreign judgement was filed here in Jan. 2023 and was last examined in June 2023.
And Delaware-based Beacon Sales Acquisition sued Hardy Hardware for allegedly not paying a settlement reached in May 2022, which had accumulated to $17,975.18 as of April 1, records state.
The Hardys have thrown all their eggs into the hardware basket. Most of Gerald Hardy's family farm has been sold, with 1,209 of the 1,229 acres going toward trying to keep the store in business, Kari Hardy said.
"We've sold all our assets down to our wedding sets," Hardy said.
But Hardy claims the bankruptcy plan will allow the family to pay off its store debts over a 5-year period.
"The bankruptcy gives us the chance to settle and go forward with all our past debt and get it cleared up within the 5 years," she said. "Then all debts of Hardy Hardware will be paid off and we can move forward successfully with a new SBA, or borrow against our own asset (the store, once paid off) to become an ACE."
During that time, the three spaces belonging to Hardy Hardware are available for lease, and Hardy said she hopes a tenant interested in re-opening a hardware store can be found to help pay her vast debts.
"If the five years ends and there isn't a hardware store there, we'll try and re-open it ourselves," Hardy said.
Hardy said five parties have showed interest in leasing the space but haven't been in contact with them yet.
The Hardys opened their version of the downtown Davenport store in March 2020. The business was considered essential by the state powers that be and was moderately successful during COVID-19 lockdowns but was then hit hard by supply chain issues and inflation.
The Hardys tried everything to stay afloat in that time. Employees went 11 straight weeks without being paid.
That led to three years of open business before the April 2023 closure.
"I would love the opportunity to gain the community's trust again, and make a successful store," Hardy said. "It will take time, but it can be done."
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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