Bob and Bill Hassett were Minnesota-born brothers who fell in love with California while passing through the golden state during their military service in World War II. After the war, Bill relocated his family to the San Francisco bay area, and Bob brought his family west soon after. In 1956, with almost no money, and with little more than their enthusiasm and their considerable experience in the building trades to back them up, the brothers followed a long-standing dream and opened Hassett Brothers Hardware in Campbell, California. They brought to their new store a commitment to service, and the same integrity that had always characterized their personal as well as their working lives. 

The early years were lean, as the brothers struggled to provide for their families. On occasion one of the brothers would take an outside job, while the other ran the store; the two incomes would then be split down the middle.

In 1961 they moved the store to Redwood City’s Marsh Manor Shopping Center. Bob became the sole owner in 1961, when Bill – realizing that the store couldn’t support more than one family – left the business to become a high school shop teacher. Bob’s son Larry grew up helping around the store after school and on weekends. After graduating from San Jose State in 1973 he joined his father full time.

The supplier for Marsh Manor Hardware was Baker Hamilton, a small, San Francisco-based wholesaler. In 1965 the store incorporated, and joined Ace Hardware, which offered greater selection and pricing, better inventory management, training, and guidance in the intricacies of developing the business. The connection with Ace Hardware proved to be a solid cornerstone in the growth and success of the business. 

When Bob retired in 1988 Larry looked for a new location with greater potential. In 1992 he found, bought, and restored a long-abandoned former automobile agency on the corner of Alma and Channing in Palo Alto – a building that shortly before had been called “Palo Alto’s biggest eyesore.”  

Palo Alto Ace Hardware opened in 1993, and flourished. In 1995 the Ace Corporation awarded it the Crystal Pyramid Award for Excellence in Retailing, an award that honors the best Ace hardware store west of the Mississippi, and one of the top three Ace Hardware stores in the nation.

In keeping with family tradition, Larry’s sons Eric and Richard grew up working in the hardware stores, and after receiving their bachelors degrees they both came back to the bay area and joined their father in the family business.

The Hassetts purchased Ocean Shore Hardware in Half Moon Bay in 2003, and, as they had in Palo Alto, orchestrated a complete renovation of the store, including a change from True Value to Ace. Just as in Palo Alto, the new Ocean Shore Ace Hardware, under the direction of Larry, Eric and Richard, flourished.

In 2008, the Hassetts expanded once again, opening a third store, Willow Glen Ace Hardware, in San Jose. The new store is located very near where the Hassett brothers opened their original store in 1956, more than 50 years before, bringing the business full circle back to its geographical roots.

Today the three Hassett hardware stores are thriving businesses, employing close to 100 people, and successfully competing against the big-box stores. The business is very different from what is was in the beginning, and yet much is the same. The stores are still family owned and operated, as they have been from the start, and the same dedication and integrity that Bob and Bill Hassett brought to their first store continue to be the heart and guiding spirit in Palo Alto, Ocean Shore, and Willow Glen.

Eric Hassett honored by National Hardware Retailer's Association