The Story Behind a Beloved, Small Town Hardware Store, 50 Years in the Making

A Family Business, a Big Leap of Faith, and an Innovative Funding Program From Region XII That Helped Make It Happen

The products are impeccably arranged. Rows upon rows of merchandise that seems to preen under the LED lights.

Stuff that’s been neatly stacked, organized, hung; a five-star, next level display of things you need, and things you didn’t think you needed, until you saw it in all of its beautifully arranged, illuminated glory and thought, “I need it.”

Walking the aisles of the 15,000 square-foot Hardware Hank at 615 Main in Coon Rapids, Iowa does not look or feel like the dusty old hardware trope, the one with the sullen bulbs, peeling linoleum floors, and dizzying clutter.  

It's nothing like that. Because walking into Hardware Hank kinda feels like walking into a specialty boutique.

It feels… well, special. 

“First and foremost as owners, we treat our employees like they are family,” says Robyn Esdohr. “We greet every customer and ask how we can help them. We take the time to make sure the customers get all their questions answered and we also give them space so that they can make a decision about their purchase without any pressure from anyone.” 

A Community Cornerstone

For over five decades, the hardware store has been a staple in downtown Coon Rapids.

It’s been there to sell you all the things you need for your project: a gallon of paint to touch up the living room, mouse traps to RIP the pests, and a new STIHL MS 182 to finally chunk the dang silver maple that fell over last month.

The hardware store began its journey in 1945, when it debuted at 517 Main Street as a modestly sized Coast to Coast. Then came its True Value era, which continued after the arrival of new owners Duane and Robyn Esdohr in 2003. 

“The previous owners were getting ready to retire and wanted to sell,” Robyn explains. “Growing up in our community we felt it was important to have a hardware store and since we wanted to own our own business it was a great opportunity.”

Eventually, the Esdohr’s swapped the banner to a Hardware Hank and were joined by their son, Adam, who became a partner in the family business. One that, sure, went out of its way to sell you beautifully arranged stuff, but also offered local delivery and installation… for just about anything.  

“An older woman called the store because she needed her bird feeders filled but couldn’t get outside. They sold her the seed, then went out into the snow and filled the feeders for her,” said Tami Lehmann, Business Loan Fund Administrator at Region XII Council of Governments. 

An Old, Historic Building on Main Street Gets a New Lease on Life

As the hardware store continued to grow, no small feat for any business, let alone one serving a rural county, the Esdohr’s started thinking about moving into a bigger space.

One of the options on their short list was the old Syngenta building, just a block away. Originally home to the Garst and Thomas Seed Corn Office, the massive, 20,000 square foot historic structure would triple Hardware Hank’s retail capacity. 

“We wanted to bring in more products and services, but our number one concern was, if we invest in this new location would we be able to expand our customer base?” explained Robyn. 

But to do so would require extensive, and expensive, renovations to the Syngenta building, which had sat dark and unused for almost seven years. 

Revolving Loan Fund Plays Central Role During One of the Most Challenging Economic Times of the Century

Eventually, Syngenta donated the building to Main Street Coon Rapids (MSCR), who in turn donated it to the Esdohr’s.

That’s when MSCR director Katie Mason told the Esdohr’s about the Region XII Development Corporation’s (RDC) Revolving Loan Fund (RLF), which would go on to play a central role in the store’s expansion.

Designed to fill the gap when traditional financing from a bank won’t fully cover the cost of a project, the RLF functions like a financial recycling pool. As qualifying businesses pay back their loans, the money is recycled back into the central fund to be lent out to the next applicant. Since the RLF program is intended to be used for gap financing, the business must leverage other financing first.

The loan itself can be used for things like land acquisition, building renovations and construction, equipment, inventory, and working capital.

The Region XII Development Corporation currently has over $2M available in its revolving loan fund, available to businesses located in Audubon, Boone, Carroll, Crawford, Dallas, Greene, Guthrie, Jasper, Marion, Polk, Sac, Story, and Warren counties.

Since 1995, RDC has provided over 157 loans totaling over $16M as a result, created 1475 jobs and over $119M was invested in our region.

“We were just so lucky to have the community support and support from Region XII.  Without programs like Region XII has to offer, this vision may not have happened,” said Robyn.

Although financing wasn’t the only challenge the Esdohr’s faced. 

“We did this remodeling in 2020 during the COVID era,” she explains. “At that time, as you know, products were sparse, and the uncertainty of whether we could get the products to fill our new location was one of our worries. While we knew eventually we would get the product, it was more of the timeline of when we would get it. How long would we have some empty shelves?”

But with the pandemic came some economic perks, including historically low interest rates. 

“We were able to provide funding at two percent, which helped their business move into the larger facility and expand its inventory,” explains Lehmann. 

It Takes a Villlage… and Over 2,500 Volunteer Hours

With the revolving loan funds in hand, everyone got to work. 

“We took possession of the store in late December 2019 and moved in July 2020, so it did not drag out,” said Esdohr. “We were truly blessed that we had a lot of family and community members that helped us. We had over 2500 volunteer hours which was fantastic, and the contractors we hired worked diligently to help keep the project moving.”

Demolition, sweeping, removing debris. Getting the new space ready while still operating the store out of the old one. Long hours, very long days. 

“Knowing that our vision was coming true made it all worth it! We are very happy with how everything came together,” she adds. 

Proud to Be Part of a Really Great Community

Hardware Hank’s massive renovation and relocation gave an old, historic building on Main Street a new life.

But it also inspired a wave of interest to reinvigorate the downtown corridor, drawing new businesses and new customers to Coon Rapids.

“It was nice to be part of that project,” Lehmann says. “You could see the pride (the Esdohr’s) took in having this store in their small community, for their citizens, neighbors, and friends. What they’ve been able to do and build this into today is pretty amazing.”

That loyalty has helped the hardware store weather five decades worth of storms. And the gravitas of carrying that torch isn’t lost on the Esdohr’s.

“We hope that Coon Rapids Hardware will continue to be a cornerstone of the community and a retail business that customers can count on for good quality and excellent customer service,” said Robyn. “We hear compliments from first time buyers or people just passing by on how lucky Coon Rapids is to have a store like this. That makes us proud to be part of a great community and to have great employees that help make it a success.”

Could Your Business Benefit from the RDC’s Revolving Loan Fund?

Are you a business owner located in Audubon, Boone, Carroll, Crawford, Dallas, Greene, Guthrie, Jasper, Marion, Polk, Sac, Story, and Warren counties who would like to learn more about Region XII’s Revolving Loan Fund? For information on applying, contact Tami Lehmann at tlehmann@region12cog.org or Scott Steffen at ssteffen@region12cog.org.