#ernst hardware

I've got several photos for this blog again, after a long gap.

Have a disposable garbage bag from 1996...ish. Ever heard of a Spite House? Well, how about a spite hardware store chain?

Eagle Hardware was founded by an executive who got pushed out at old-time Seattle chain Ernst Hardware, and he did it specifically to drive Ernst out of business. The moment Ernst folded, he put Eagle up for sale and it got bought by Lowes and turned into more Lowes.

Which is a shame, because Eagle Hardware and Garden was way better than Lowes. Seriously, it was a good chain. And yes, also probably better overall than Ernst, which was really hit or miss. My Ernst was the University Village Ernst (which is madness if you know the University Village of today, but trust me, it was a different place in the 1980s and 1990s) which was the best one - not just the always-free popcorn but the just jam-packed not-at-all-modern mess that it was. You might not find exactly what you were looking for, but you'd find something you wanted, and almost certainly something you didn't expect.

And it was one of their few profitable locations, right up until the end.