A Few Cool Hardware Stores, a group of 13 employee-owned hardware stores in the DC and Baltimore metro areas, has signed a lease to take over the Gold’s Gym space at 835 Rockville Pike in Wintergreen Plaza (Rockville), according to a BizJournals report.
In Montgomery County, A Few Cool Hardware Stores also operates as Old Takoma Ace Hardware in Takoma Park and as Silver Spring Ave Hardware in the Downtown Silver Spring area. The upcoming Rockville store will be its furthest move north in the DC Metro area.
The company began transferring ownership to its employees with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) process in 2021. In 2023, the company named Craig Smith, who started as manager of Strosniders Hardware in Bethesda, MD in 1999 and opened Fairfax Ace Hardware in 2011, as its new CEO.
The Gold’s Gym space in Wintergreen Plaza was previously listed as being available by klnb and is now listed as being “at lease” with a tenant not named on the leasing website. Gold’s Gym is still operating in the space and we do not have a closing date at this time as calls to the gym went unanswered and the nearby Rockville Town Square location was unaware of the impending closure. According to BizJournals, the store isn’t slated to open until late spring 2025.
Founded in 2003, the A Few Cool Hardware Stores is described as being “built from the connections we forge in our local communities. Our friendly staff provide goods and services to meet the needs of our valued customers and improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods. We believe in the power of customer service and strive to be the most helpful hardware stores on the planet.”