Business & Tech

Cantelmi's Hardware: 'Growth and Stability' in Forks Township

Family has run Ace Hardware on Sullivan Trail in Forks Township since May 2006.

Cantelmi’s Hardware, a 91-year-old independently owned retail operation, has purchased the 20,000-square-foot, 1805 Sullivan Trail, Forks Township, building it opened and has been operating since May 2006. 

"We are excited to bring growth and stability to our family-owned business that was founded by my grandfather in 1922," said third-generation owner Richard Cantelmi, who along with wife Rose Cantelmi expanded into Forks Township in 2006 with a Super Ace Hardware store format.

The Forks Township store features an expansive lawn and garden center, the largest selection of Stihl Power Equipment in Eastern Pennsylvania, a specialized Benjamin Moore department, and continued tradition of legendary service.

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The original Cantelmi’s Hardware store, at 521 E. Fourth St., Bethlehem, and the family operation has survived the Great Depression, World War II, migration to the suburbs, the downfall of Bethlehem Steel, and the battle of big box stores.

Cantelmi believes the tradition of outstanding customer service, flexibility and innovation continues to set Cantelmi’s Hardware into the future.

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Providing the ultimate customer service is a detail Rick inherited from his father, Louie Cantelmi, and grandfather, Placido.

"Here, customers are far more than a number, they are a name and a face that our staff is most likely to remember," said Cantelmi, who at 58 still recalls his first paycheck after working an afternoon at the store.

He said he was 8 when his grandfather put 25 cents in an envelope and wrote, "Rick’s First Pay."

That quarter might have been a small token, but the encouragement continues to hammer out a special mold for Cantelmi’s Hardware today.

"My father taught me that the customer came first. If we are loading products on shelves when a customer comes in the aisle, we believe the priority is always to assist the customer first. We simply aim to help the customer so they can return to their day as quick as possible. Lines at the checkout counter are not acceptable to us."

“It costs nothing to be nice,” a phrase first used by Placido, continues to be the mission behind the scenes and on the retail floor today.

For more information about the Forks Ace Hardware site, visit www.cantelmihardware.com or call 610-866-0532 or 610-515-9800.


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