Tweedy & Popp Ace Hardware

Specialties

Benjamin Moore paints; custom cut window glass and plexiglass; screen repair; mower, tool and knife sharpening; all sorts of household electrical, plumbing, hardware, houseware and garden supplies.

History

Established in 1920.

Started in Wallingford in 1920 by Mr. Tweedy and Mr. Popp, two neighborhood businessmen, Tweedy and Popp is Seattle’s oldest hardware store. The original location was in a garage at 2108 N 45^th St. — they built a store around that garage and operated there until 1949 when the store moved to a larger space at 1916 N 45^th St. Mr. Popp sold the store to the Thompson family (Mr. Thompson was his store manager) in about 1960. In 1967 Mr. Thompson passed away unexpectedly and the store was operated by the then Manager Chuck Gates, who bought the store from Mrs. Thompson in 1970. Mr. Gates had ownership in the store until 2008, when he sold his portion to a partner who had worked with him for the previous few years (currently there are three partners in the three Tweedy & Popp stores). In April of 2009 the store moved down the street to 1815 N 45^th, Suite 112 (The Wallingford Center); the move began with a human chain of friends and customers moving merchandise on a Saturday morning.

Meet the Business Owner

Mike M.

Business Owner

I am a partner and the General Manager for the three Tweedy and Popp stores — Wallingford, Lake City and Richmond Beach. I went to work for Mr. Gates in 1986 and managed our Kenmore store until we closed it in 1990. As Mr. Gates took more time for himself and moved toward retirement years I took on more managerial responsibility. In the early 2000’s Mr. Gates took on an equity partner; when Mr. Gates fully retired, I became a partner and we opened two additional stores, as well as later taking ownership of Home Builders Supply on W Nickerson St. (NW Queen Anne).