Crest Hardware in Brooklyn to close after 62 years in business

Crest Hardware in Brooklyn will close next month after six decades, due in part to the rising costs of maintaining a small business.

“Closing this is heartbreaking in so many ways. It’s been my life’s work the last 20 years, and my father’s overlapping with that, and before that,” said Joe Franquinha, whose father and uncle opened the store in Williamsburg in 1962.

The neighborhood has undergone a major transformation over the years, but Franquinha says Crest was always able to adapt. In the early 2000s, the store began selling specialty paints for artists and opened an urban garden as the neighborhood — once filled with manufacturing and associated working-class housing — transitioned into high-end residential.

“It changed the dynamic of the store, it changed the demographic of who shops here, and it changed the basket size and the amount that they would be willing to spend,” said Franquinha.

He and his property partners couldn’t reach an agreement on a new lease, and they decided to sell the property. He took to social media to announce the permanent closure earlier this month.

“Hitting send on that Instagram post when we put that out that day, my hands were shaking. Terrible feeling,” Franquinha said.

Since then, Franquinha says he’s received hundreds of heartfelt messages from members of the community.

(Courtesy of Crest Hardware)

“The outpour has been tremendous,” he said. “We know we’re loved. And we can say that confidently. Not in an arrogant way, but we know we are loved by this community. And we put our heart on our sleeve for this community but man, have they returned the favor.”

Friends, family and longtime patrons of Crest say it’s so much more than a hardware store.

“This may sound overdramatic, but it feels a little bit like a death in the family,” said Matty Nagle, a friend and longtime patron.

(Courtesy of Crest Hardware)

“It’s just a staple in the neighborhood. I’m up and down Metropolitan and there it is, Crest Hardware. It’s gonna be bad for the hardware people who come in every day for a nail, a hammer. It’s sad to see them go,” added Donald Kubik, Crest’s plant supplier.

Franquinha says he considered relocating, but ultimately decided not to due to the increase in online shopping and commercial rent prices.

“As we looked around, more and more we found how cost-prohibitive it was,” he said.

(Courtesy of Crest Hardware)

Franquinha says he’s grateful for every person who’s ever walked through the doors of Crest over the last six decades.

“We know what we mean to this community,” he said. “This community, if they didn’t know before, they know now what they mean to not only me, but my wife, my mom, all of my employees here.”

Crest Hardware is currently holding a liquidation sale across all departments. There will be a farewell celebration on Aug. 24 before the store’s last day of business on Aug. 30.