Wiener Home Hardware

Probably one of the worst hardware stores on occasion, and on the rare occasion just okay. So I gave it two stars.
The guys who work here love to treat you like you’re stupid, and seem to almost put effort into appearing like they put not effort into anything. It’s almost a game of information constipation, where you have to tease things out of them as they play surly and hard to get.
Granted, since largely the same guys have been in there the 10 years I’ve been in the neighborhood, I’m not sure I can blame them.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t take any opportunity I can get to give my money to another store.
Only go here for bare essentials in a pinch.

Three days ago I visited the Home Hardware website and found the item I needed (a type of vacuum filter), but the website doesn’t allow online purchasing and doesn’t show me which location carries any of the items listed. I opted to visit the nearest location to me, and when I arrived a man took me to the area where they carried different types of filters. When I mentioned I needed the specific filter I’d found on their site, he simply said
«You can’t expect us to carry everything our website lists!»
Fair enough, I thought, but how do I get the item then? I wanted to support this little local Canadian company over the big American guys, so I asked how I’d find the item; could we see if they carried it elsewhere?
«No» he said, «We don’t carry it. I don’t know what to tell you.»
I left the store. I was frustrated certainly. This system seemed terribly flawed, and with each Home Hardware branch being independently owned, there seems no central governing body to ensure this type of glib service doesn’t occur.
Today I went back to that same store. I didn’t want to give up hope on my locally owned Home Hardware store. After all, as far as I knew it was only the one bad seed! :)
When I arrived at the store, the gentleman assisting me was initially somewhat helpful. He took me through the types of paint I was looking for and helped me pick out the right one. As he was mixing the colour I selected I told him about my visit 3 days earlier. He seemed totally uninterested. He said nothing at all initially. I told him I wanted to support the store but that the central online system seemed flawed.
He replied, «Nothing I say will make a difference» and grabbed my things, walking past me to the front counter. He was brisk; wanted to simply get rid of me I suppose.
I asked his name, and he told me «Marty.» He then said he was the owner. I nearly fell over. I asked, «Shouldn’t you take more of a vested interest in this?» Perhaps I caught him on the wrong day, because he actually began yelling: «What the F do you want me to do lady? What the F are you expecting?»
I nearly fell over. As he continued to scream, I stepped backwards toward the exit. I began walking away from the store, a bit shaken. Moments later Marty was chasing me down the street! Amidst neighboring retailers and shoppers, he was screaming «F-​U Bitch!» again and again. He continued to chase me until I threatened to call for help, and only then did he return to his store, angry that I didn’t purchase the can of paint despite his temper tantrum. (Marty should’ve waited until after my purchase to lose his marbles.)
The really sad addition to this story is that the young gent behind the counter didn’t even seem shocked. As the owner screamed, the young man simply processed the small can of paint as if nothing was happening around him.
I called head office, but as I suspected, since the locations are privately owned there is no one to govern the behavior or set a standard for how each retailer operates. Marty can do whatever he wants, and I apparently have to accept being yelled at and chased down the block.

Ah, now this is a hardware store!
Wiener’s is my go-​to for all sorts of home-​y things: light bulbs; ant traps [I know …]; graffiti remover [yes, again, I know …]; giant Ziploc storage bags; dehumidifiers, humidifiers, fans, air filters, radiator-​style room heaters; two tiny screws that don’t look like any other and yet Wiener’s has them; outdoor motion-​detectors that have adhesive so you don’t have to use tools to set them up; those little paper umbrellas that go in fancy cocktails … all the kinds of stuff.
And if they don’t have what you want in stock, but «Home Hardware» carries it, they’ll order it for you.
On occasion I come in with friends, do-​it-​yourself types who have pretty unusual and specific requests. The staff will patiently hear them out and suggest solutions or at least offer ways to tackle their unique problems. That’s worth a lot.
Great staff, friendly service, helpful advice = all good.

Have been here many times, and have always been treated with respect and patience despite being a novice at best do it yourselfer with very little home reno knowledge. Went it today to get some advice about a piece of furniture I’m refinishing and the gentleman working there was patient, suggested a great primer and paint, and a great brush. He took the time to explain the differences between sanding and priming, and discussed drying times with me given the humidity and sunlight (painting outside). Really good experience, and worth paying the few dollars extra to get the advice you need.

Having recently bought a fixer-​upper, I have spent waaaayyy too much time lately at Home Depot, Rona, Canadian Tire and various Home Hardwares, and this one is by far the best I’ve encountered. The staff was the most helpful I’ve encountered at any store in the GTA. (I’m a solo chick who likely projects both a mournful need for help and a willingness to buy — so if I don’t get offered assistance in a hardware store, it may not be very forthcoming for others, either.)
Bonus: As well as getting friendly, helpful service in person, I also emailed the store to ask about a special order and got a prompt, helpful response from the owner, which is above and beyond the call of retail duty.
I actually ran into these reviews of the store as I was looking up the hours to go back there tonight, which made me decide to write this one! Go Wiener — I will!

I’m a little confused by Lauren M’s review, frankly, and sounds like a review of a hardware store written by someone who doesn’t actually shop in hardware stores.
Having been to many of the Home Hardware stores in the city, this is one of my favourite, so I considered it a bonus when I moved into the neighbourhood.
As far as Home Hardware stores go, this is actually a decent size in comparison to the other in-​town shops, and bright, so I don’t know where Lauren gets the idea of «dingy». The thing I like about it is that it’s NOT a Home Depot. They’ve got a good selection of tools, hardware, fasteners, paints, plumbing essentials, housewares, etc. In short, everything you’d need to run down and grab from your neighbourhood hardware store.
I was doing home renovations a couple years ago, and was back and forth from Wiener’s more than a dozen times, and they always had what I needed short of having to get lumber from the building centre up on Dupont. More importantly, the staff there have always been very helpful and supportive and willing to give you suggestions and ideas for your projects if you’re having trouble.
We’re very lucky to have them! There aren’t enough good hardware stores like this around!

This place is truly quite bad. I’ve been waiting anxiously for nearly 4 years for it to close so a new Asian restaurant can open up in it’s space (just like all the other failed businesses on the Bloor-​Annex strip) but people must be spending money here or maybe their lease isn’t up for renewal yet.
Anyway, it’s very small, dingy, cramped and OUTDATED. It reminds me of the type of hardware store my dad would take me to back in the mid-​80s, before the big chain stores like Home Depot opened up.
I’m not sure what it’s hours of operation are, but it seems to be operating on small town business hours from the 1980s as well. It’s shut by 5pm on Saturdays, closed Sundays and closed early on weekday evenings.
Wieners is such a dud name too. Doh.