They say it’s all because two people fell in love …
It began in Ellwood City in 1991 when Tim and Mary (the T & M in T & M Hardware) Post bought their first hardware store on their wedding anniversary to pursue their dreams of owning their own business and to do what they were meant to do—serve their community as hardware retailers.
And on October 23 three anniversaries culminated for the post family as they Celebrated the 33rd anniversary of the opening of the Ellwood location, Tim and Mary’s wedding anniversary, and the opening of the newest T & M Hardware location at 2530 Wilmington Road in Neshannock Township.
“All of the important dates came full circle with the opening of the new store,” said Samantha Post, Mary and Tim’s daughter, who also helps run the family business.
Samantha said although New Castle already has a location at 1710 New Butler Road, they realized that new castle is large and believed the Neshannock area community needed their own location.
“A lot of people were supporting our New Butler Road location, and we appreciated that,” she said. “We are convenience hardware, and now we have a store on both ends of town.”
According to Samantha, the new store opening was a great milestone for the family.
She is one of four siblings. Both she and her youngest brother are involved in the business.
“My youngest brother and I are actively involved in the business and plan to move it forward into the future,” she said. “We grew up in the business and we all helped get the Ellwood City and Zelienople stores started. My sister works for the hardware co-op (parent corporation) Do it Best. My other brother grew up in the business but is doing something different now.”
But it all started with Tim Post, her dad. She said he was working in industrial sales, a job which took him to many states. Eventually, because of his talents and abilities, he was tasked with taking struggling aspects of business and fixing them.
“He had a gift of transforming things,” Samantha said.
By the late 1980s, Tim had transformed quite a few businesses, and decided it was time plant roots and start his own business.
Samantha said he shopped around for different struggling stores in the area and the choice was between the Perrysville store that the family recently closed and the Ellwood City Store. She said the Ellwood City store needed the most work, so her dad decided to take it on.
“My dad has a gift, and he knows how to use it. It’s something my dad enjoys doing.”
Through the continued support of the communities, they serve, the Posts have grown their family business from a single hardware store to seven hardware stores with accompanying rental centers over the last 30 years:
- 1991: The Post family opened the first store in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania to serve the needs of the Ellwood City, Ellport, and Portersville communities.
- 1996: The Post family opened their first rental center to offer an alternative to purchasing large or seldomly used pieces of equipment to help make projects easier and more affordable.
- 2000: The Post family expanded into party rental by offering tents, tables and chairs and inflatable bounces to help make backyard entertaining a more affordable reality for families.
- 2004: The Post family opened their second location in Harmony, Pennsylvania to serve the needs of the Harmony, Zelienople, Fombell, Evans City, Cranberry Township, and Beaver Falls communities and to further serve their Ellwood City customers.
- 2008: The Post family opened their third location in East Palestine, Ohio to serve the needs of the East Palestine, Columbiana, Rogers, Negley, Chippewa, Enon Valley, and Darlington communities.
- 2010: The Post family opened their fourth location in New Castle, Pennsylvania to serve the needs of the New Castle, Shenango, Neshannock, Laurel, and New Wilmington communities and to further serve their Ellwood City customers.
- 2013: The Post family opened their fifth location in Bellevue, Pennsylvania to serve the needs of the Bellevue, Avalon, Ben Avon, Emsworth, Brighton Heights, and the northside of Pittsburgh.
- 2015: The Post family opened their sixth location in Perrysville, Pennsylvania to serve the needs of the Perrysville, West View, and Ross Township. They decided to close that location to focus on adding another location in the New Castle area.
- 2024: The Post family opened their seventh location in Neshannock Township.
Samantha said they are currently hiring for both the new location as well as the Ellwood City location.
Although most stores are similar, there are a few differences.
“All of our locations have same core offerings, but each store is slightly different and tailored to the community the store is located in,” Samantha said.
And she believes being locally owned gives her family an advantage in the Hardware arena over some of the big-box stores. She said that the personal knowledge about the communities they live in and the people they serve really helps them be there when people need them the most. She said that appreciation drives them to continue to really provide great service.
“Having a roof over your head is an immediate need. We know we are needed for everyday projects, but when things are really hitting the fan during a blizzard, a train derailment, a global pandemic, hurricane seasons when we can help other communities that’s when we are at our best. We can quickly access and address what is it that our communities need.”
And community is everything to the post family.
We are invested in the communities,” Samantha said. “We hire people in the community, live there, shop there, go to school in the community. We are part of the community and keeping dollars there. We are also out talking to people in the communities, so we know how to best serve them.”
Samantha said in addition to having what the community needs, they also like to empower customers to take on diy projects that they might be hesitant to try. She said if they can help customers complete a simple project on their own while saving dollars, that’s a win for her family. Often, they will work to educate the public on their social media channels.
You can follow T & M Hardware on Facebook and Instagram and visit the website.
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