New owners expand

Alexis Barker
NLJ Reporter
 
There are new faces associated with Frontier Home Ranch and Hardware in Newcastle since the sale of the business became official in December. 
New owners Thane and Keri Ashenhurst of Wheatland have been in the hardware store business since 2002, celebrating their 15-year anniversary in the business the year before discovering Frontier Home Ranch and Hardware. The couple hired Zach Pickle as the managing partner of the local store while they continue to operate their store in Wheatland. 
“We met Sandy (Dirkes) through a Hardware Hanks buying market,” Keri Ashenhurst said. “We found out she was wanting to sell, and expanding and growing our business sounded nice.”
Over the next year, Ashenhurst said, the couple got to know Dirkes and how she does business. 
“Our store is quite like hers; we have similar stores and clientele. We also have similar ways of running our stores,” Ashenhurst said. “That similarity is the focus on customers and building a relationship with them.”
“It was really appealing to both of us,” she said. “It was just a perfect fit; it was really exciting. Everything just fell into place.” 
Ashenhurst noted that now Dirkes can go be a “grandma” and the Wheatland couple can expand their business. Ashenhurst admitted that expanding the business wasn’t always the plan and the opportunity just “fell into their lap.” 
“We are not corporate people. We like being in the smaller communities, running our business like a small business, where you know your employees and feel like a family,” Ashenhurst said. 
Throughout the buying process, Ashenhurst said, the couple knew the key to successfully owning a business hours away from home is “having a good manager in place.” 
“We had known Zach for years, and we knew he had always wanted to own a hardware store or be in the hardware business,” Ashenhurst said. 
Pickle said that when the couple first began to consider purchasing the Frontier location, they approached him to see if he was interested in partnering with them and managing the Newcastle store. 
“After a couple visits over about four months, I figured I will give it a shot,” Pickle said. 
He noted that he and his wife moved to Newcastle in November and began managing the store on Dec. 1. 
Both Pickle and Ashenhurst said that they hope to bring in more brand name clothing and tools, while maintaining the same level of customer service people came to love while Dirkes ran the store. 
“We are looking to expand the brands we carry and what we offer,” Ashenhurst said. 
She noted that they hope to bring big brands to the small town, with the goal of keeping locals shopping at home. In order to achieve this goal, Ashenhurst said, they are hoping people won’t be afraid to come in and voice their wants and needs. 
“We are willing to hear what is lacking and look to see if that is a good fit for our store,” she said. 
Other changes are an expanded garden center with more live plants and a bigger greenhouse. Pickle also noted that the store will eventually be open on Sundays. 
“Down the road, we are probably going to be opening on Sundays for just a few hours. This will give someone working on a project or with an emergency somewhere to go,” Pickle said. “That will be the big change people will see.”