Story Behind the Storefront: Welna ACE Hardware in Downtown Robbinsdale

Robbinsdale sold itself to potential ACE Hardware buyer Mark Welna and his wife back in late 2017.

“The downtown here is absolutely fabulous. The restaurants, the breweries, just everything, and I just thought, this is a great spot,” Welna told Mayor Brad Sutton during a taping of the Robbinsdale Biz Brief segment for CCX Cities.  Welna and his wife bought the store on January 1, 2018, and moved to Robbinsdale from South Minneapolis not long after. They still own and operate a hardware store there, also.

They quickly expanded the downtown Robbinsdale store and have since added a new garden center and a separate grilling-centric building in the former Robbinsdale Marine location.

Welna ACE Hardware co-owner Mark Welna helps a customer outside the back door of the store in downtown Robbinsdale.

“I think the people in Robbinsdale, I would say Crystal, New Hope, North Minneapolis, like to shop local, so that’s been just great, you know, at our store,” said Welna.

Spring is the busiest time of year for Welna ACE Hardware, according to Mark.

“During a seven-week period, we do a huge percentage of our business (for the year),” he said.

As for his downtown perch, Welna said he can’t pick just one favorite spot to hang out when he’s not hard at work in the store.

“This two-block area is just a little Eat Street in Robbinsdale,” he said. “I can’t say I can really pick one. There’s so many great spots here in Robbinsdale.”

Robbinsdale

Cities Stories