Fresh start

Mohagen’s Hardware moves to new location but adheres to familar service mantra

By Amie Steffen | The Daily Journal

Published Monday, February 26, 2007

Janice Amundson and her husband, Tom, are hopeful that soon they’ll be hosting the grand re-opening of Mohagen’s Hardware and Rental in Elbow Lake.

But, all the same, their unofficial re-opening happened last summer, when they relocated their hardware, paint and other merchandise to a brand-new building and demolished the old one.

“The old building was in tough shape,” Janice Amundson said.

So the couple started from scratch, acquiring a new space and painstakingly moving each item by hand into its new home. Amundson would take a picture of each shelf in the store, then take each item out by hand and put it back onto the shelf in exactly the same place according to the picture.

The move meant Mohagen’s — in operation for 75 years — would get new legs. And it also meant the Amundsons would get a fresh start after owning the hardware store for 10 years.

With the new building in place, the owners also got rid of the old — namely, selling furniture and appliances. They still rent out power tools, dollies, tents, coffee makers and lots of other items to customers who need them only for a day or two.

“Sometimes it’s easier to rent than pay thousands,” Amundson said.

But the couple finds the majority of their business comes from a more colorful outlet.

“Our biggest department is paint,” she said, noting Mohagen’s carries Integrity, Lifetime, Laura Ashley and Benjamin Moore brands.

They can color-match any paint sample a dime or larger in their computers within seconds, almost instantaneously providing their customers with a can of the exact paint they need for the job.

But they also provide an array of do-it-yourself products, including fasteners, home hardware, electrical, plumbing, sporting goods and housewares. They also have a wide selection of live bait, from minnows to large decoys for spear fishing.

Giving their customers the service they need is part of the hometown appeal the store provides, Amundson said.

“We can help with a plumbing project, help figure out the perfect tool to use,” she said. “We know most of our customers pretty well, so when they come in, we can say, ‘How is this going?’”

Though the physical building has changed, the Amundsons and their three part-time employees continue to run the business as if Mohagen’s hasn’t changed at all.

“The best part is the people who come in every day,” Amundson said.