Verona now features world’s first drive-through Hardware Store

Craig Bakay | Mar 25, 2020

Like just about all business owners these days, Asselstine Hardware owner Andrew Asselstine is concerned over the health and safety of his staff and customers. So, this past weekend, he built a little drive-through kiosk onto the front of the store where he can serve customers without them having to enter the store.

“With my wife being a healthcare worker at Providence Hospital, I’m well aware of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said. “And I was concerned about the staff and customers.”

And the drive-through seems to be a hit, not only for its conscientiousness, but also as a rather humorous oddity in trying times.

“A little bit of humour never hurts,” Asselstine said. “It’s been a great response.

“We’ve had 25,000 likes on Facebook — 20,000 in the first 24 hours.”

He said he hopes it’ll help keep people’s spirits up and at the same time promote more awareness of social distancing.

“I’m surprised at how many people are still unaware,” he said. “I’ve had people come in and ask ‘why did you do this?’ and ‘is this about the virus thing?’”

And then, he’s also had more humorous queries like “Should you be asking ‘do you want fries with that hammer?’”

If nothing else, the positive comments have done a world of good for Asselstine himself.

“Amongst all the negativity around retail right now, it’s nice to have a little positive feedback,” he said.