The store is expected to reopen in late February, said Wright, who also owns the Othello Ace Hardware and Stan’s Merry Market in Wenatchee.

“We will focus on barbecue a lot more — grills, smokers, and all the accessories that go along with that,” Wright said. “We will be expanding our section of fasteners, the nuts and bolts. We’ll increase our irrigation supply, along with shovels, rakes things like that.

“As far as the market, the Woods family has already set it up. So, we’re not trying to re-create the wheel. We’re trying to make improvements where we can. They were exceptional in plumbing. We feel like there’s a lot of opportunity in our lawn and garden department as well as hardware. We feel we can continue that in those areas and improve in others.”

The change in ownership and the renovation is expected to bring a new look to an old friend, and Wright believes customers will see an improvement moving forward.

“We took all the shelving out and ripped up the tile and sub-floor. We’re putting in new sub-floor, then we’ll put the tiles down and rebuild the shelving in a new configuration,” Wright said. “The purpose of the renovation was to correct some issues with the flooring.”

The neon Woods sign that has burned brightly out front on Pearl Street for generations will continue to do so in the future, he said.

The grandparents of Norm and Johnny Woods, Robert and Ora Woods, worked side by side at the business that began as Woods Auto Supply when they opened it on the Olympic Block in 1944.

Johnny’s father John, joined them after a stint in the Army. Norm’s father Bob got involved in 1945 after his service obligation in the U.S. Air Corps.

In 1956, the store was moved to its present location at 310 Pearl St.

It eventually transitioned into Woods Ace Hardware where Bob and his brother John ran it for years. Eventually, Norm and his cousin Johnny took over the day-to-day operations. Woods Ace Hardware was a family operation for 75 years.