39 Years Of Customer Service at Rocky Point Hardware

You're getting ready for your Fourth of July backyard get-together and you think to yourself the final touch is a gazebo decked with lights or a strand strung through your patio umbrella.

It's the middle of June, and Christmas lights aren't in abundance just yet, so where can you turn? Right here in your neighborhood, has them -- and much, much more -- in stock.

Owner Bill LaPurka has been in hardware and lumber since 1964. In 1972 he opened his first hardware store in Rocky Point, and he has been in the present location on 25A since 1980.

LaPurka remarked on the changes he has witnessed over the decades.

"Of course you have the big box stores," he said, "and now everybody including drugstores and supermarkets sell a little hardware.

"What sets us apart, is knowledge and helpfulness. We try to get the customer the right product. Customers come back and tell us what works and does not work, and we listen."

The store will soon have another competitor around town with in the brick building under construction in the

"Years ago Ace wanted me to expand and open a bigger store in Rocky Point," LaPurka said.

He told them no.

"Bigger doesn't always mean you will make more money," he explained.

Another factor is LaPurka's intimate connection to the community.

"My wife of 46 years refers to the store as my girlfriend. I'm here six days a week, it used to be seven. It's the homeowner that shops here."

LaPurka feels his dedication has been appreciated by the community. Rocky Point Hardware has survived, while two other hardware stores in the area have closed their doors.

Kristina Mirell has been working at Rocky Point Hardware over twenty years, since she took her first full time job out of High School. 

"We sell some pretty odd stuff," she said.

One of the oddest requests pops up every year; adaptors with a double male plug, which don't exist.

"When people get to the end of a strand of Christmas lights they wind up with a problem that no adaptor can help," Mirell said. "They are not made for safety reasons."

On the counter by the register you'll find some interesting items as well: Grandmas Grime Away Soap, a good old fashioned bar great for tough stains. Kookaburra Licorice, made from real licorice root, a natural source of nutritional iron, and perhaps the oddest...Monkey Butt, anti-itch powder.

"We sell tons of this stuff all year round, even as stocking stuffers." Mirell said.

From Monkey Butt powder to hammers, Rocky Point Hardware's ecclectic collection of items and stellar customer service continues to make it a staple of 25A.