Minding Your Business- Baskin’s Ace Hardware Store

The local legacy that the founders of Baskin’s Hardware created is something so special that has stood the test of time here on the Lower Cape. The Baskins name is synonymous with excellence and has been a Cape Cod family-owned business since 1977. Baskin’s Ace Hardware Store is the type of shop where you are greeted with warmth and a smile, where employees can help with advice and expertise on all projects big and small.

Bill and Marilyn Baskin opened the doors to their first local hardware store in the late 1970s in Orleans, and then went on to open three more shops over the next 10 years in Harwich Port, South Dennis and Brewster. Their final store in South Yarmouth opened in the early 1990s with their son Jimmy and daughter Lauren joining the family business in the mid-2000s. The couple successfully owned and operated all five stores for decades before selling to their daughter, Lauren Baskin and partner Lynn Colangione.

“My parents were really into taking care of customers at any cost,” Lauren fondly recalled. “Sometimes when my mom was doing the bills for the hardware store and the different charge accounts, she would use a Polomis heater. We lived in kind of an old Cape Cod house back in the day. One time my dad ran home and grabbed the Polomis heater because somebody needed to buy it. So he took it from my mom and brought it back down to the Orleans store and sold it to a customer. They tried to do anything and everything they could to make sure the customer got what they needed, particularly in times of snowstorms and blizzards and disasters.”

In 2018 after a nearly 40 year partnership, Lynn and Lauren converted the stores from True Value to Ace. It was a pivotal year for them as they re-merchandised and remodeled all of the stores updating everything. Since buying out Jimmy at the Brewster shop recently, everything has been completely remodeled from the landscaping to the fixtures to the floor. Even the parking lot is brand new in Brewster, making it much larger and safer to navigate. Customers in Brewster should definitely check out all of the improvements.

“We still have the same values that Marilyn and Bill Baskin instilled,” Lynn said. “Which is to be a real community resource and also to create a great place for people to work. And because of that, we’ve had people working with us for decades.”

And it’s not just Lynn and Lauren leading the charge. They credit their amazing, long-time staff for helping shape Baskin’s Ace Hardware Stores over the years.

“We have a really strong management team,” Lynn said. “We have a general manager and an assistant manager in each store. And that management team makes us very strong. We work together cooperatively. We all have our respective roles, especially during times like a snowstorm or if there's a hurricane. We come together, we work together to make things happen. So I'm very proud of the team we've built and the culture in our stores.”

“The tenure and experience of our staff spans decades,” Lauren added.

Each store is jam-packed with experts who have spent their careers helping shape the Baskin’s Ace Hardware Stores brand and experience. General Manager Marcus Farias has been with Baskin’s for 21 years and was instrumental in overseeing the entire Brewster remodeling project. Store Managers include Jim Morton in Orleans (employed 45 years), John Jaworski in Harwich Port (employed 33 years), Dave DeCenzo in South Yarmouth (employed 29 years). The new assistant manager in the Brewster store is Brenden Meyer (employed six years) and the South Dennis assistant manager is Tim Schwartz (employed six years). Other long time employees of the Baskin’s Ace Hardware Store include Doug Dineen (43 years), Nancy Morton (33 years), Mike Banis (17 years), Don Pollard (15 years) and Neil O’Brien (13 years). 

Matt Pomocka in Brewster (employed 11 years) carries on his own Baskin's tradition. His uncle is John Jaworski, the Harwich Port manager, and his father Paul Pomocka used to manage the Brewster store in the early 2000s. 

Baskin’s Ace Hardware Store has everything you would expect in a local hardware store, and then some. They offer electrical and plumbing supplies, tools, hardware, housewares and painting supplies. All five stores feature big-name brands like Benjamin Moore paint, Ego and Craftsman products, YETI, Webber Grills and so much more. 

“From my parents we have carried on the tradition, and so did my brother, to treat the employees like family,” Lauren said. “So we are really good to our employees. If people need time off or they need to take care of a sick mother, they can do whatever they need to do. And the team, the whole team rallies around to help that person attend to what they need to in their lives. And we find when we do that we have happier employees and with happier employees, we really feel it impacts the customer service that we're able to give because the employees know we have their back. And then they can go out and…take care of the community, which is really ultimately what all of our mutual goals are. Our goal is to be a presence in the community, but also to treat our employees as though they are our customers as well. So it's been a really good and successful philosophy and way to run a business, and often we have people stay so long. It all comes full circle so it's really nice. It's really an awesome community and culture that we have.”

DETAILS

Baskin’s Ace Hardware Store

locations in Orleans, Brewster, Harwich Port, South Dennis and South Yarmouth

baskinsacehardware.com

Open 7 days a week

Monday through Saturday, 7:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m.

Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.