Hoffman Estates lands new True Value hardware store on site of former Ace Hardware

Hoffman Estates has long found retention of a neighborhood hardware store to be an elusive element of its otherwise robust business community.

But despite the Cook County taxes and high commercial rents that challenge an industry with such tight profit margins, a True Value store will open by mid-November at 675 W. Golf Road where an 8-year-old Ace Hardware closed in the summer of 2025.

Leading the effort are co-owners Mellissa Porcaro of Mount Prospect and Joe Lomanto of Chicago, who bring a combined half-century of experience with Ace Hardware.

Porcaro has managed Ace stores during the decade since she left teaching, while Lomanto has been an owner of multiple locations in Chicago for 40 years.

In fact, it was an offer to sell Lomanto the inventory that the Hoffman Estates Ace had left behind that brought the location to his attention.

But while Ace wasn’t interested in reopening there, True Value found an instinctive appeal in the site at the major intersection of Golf and Higgins roads, Lomanto said.

A fact well known to Hoffman Estates officials, he added that the coming store will fill just about the biggest gap in the region for a medium-sized hardware store.

“We like the traffic,” Lomanto said. “It’s a great intersection. We love the fact that there’s all these other businesses.”

And that includes the Sherwin-Williams paint store two doors down.

The new owners and Hoffman Estates Economic Development Director Kevin Kramer said they understand why it’s this kind of hardware store and not a big box that area residents and businesses are looking for.

This type of store brings both proximity and personal touch to its customers, Kramer explained.

“That’s what sets them apart,” he added. “That’s what we want in our community.”

In many ways, such hardware stores face many of the same challenges as restaurants ― but with a smaller base of passionate owners willing to face them, Kramer said.

Porcaro agreed with the comparison, saying she learned the dedication required by working at her father’s restaurant even before her teaching career.

“It’s not for the faint of heart,” she said. “It’s a labor of love. Where Joe and I align is that the customers come first. We’ll get to know customers’ names.”

The store is expected to open with 10 employees before growing further. And four were unexpectedly found among the former staff of the Ace on the site.

They’re all expecting to be ready for the area’s pent-up demand. During this preparation period, people have been regularly popping in to see if they’re open ― even on the day the “Coming Soon” sign was down to paint the facade.

“I know this town wanted a hardware store for a long time,” Hoffman Estates Chamber of Commerce & Industry President Tricia O’Brien said. “From a chamber of commerce perspective, we’re just happy to have a hardware store back in the community.”

But equally enthusiastic village officials recognize this as an industry in need of support.

Trustees have approved a five-year sales tax incentive for the store and recommended a 12-year Cook County property tax incentive for the landlord to help control the rent, Kramer said.

epeterson@dailyherald.com