Getting the Job Done

As the owner of any old house can attest, a good hardware store is indispensable. For the past 100 years, homeowners and do-it-yourselfers in Jeffersonville have turned to Heuser Hardware for equipment and advice.

Vintage lettering in the transom windows of the store on Spring Street give the first hint of the variety of items available inside: “Paints and Varnishes,” “Hand Tools,” “Windows,” “Plumbing,” and “Cleaning Supplies.” Underneath the shop’s decorative tin ceilings, tightly packed aisles hold just about everything necessary for a home improvement project. But it’s the customer service, camaraderie, and hometown atmosphere that have kept customers coming back to this downtown institution.

James “Jimmy” Heuser, Frank Stutzenberger, and John Kenny opened Heuser Hardware in August 1923 about a block north of its current location. Heuser and Stutzenberger had been co-workers at Belknap Hardware, Louisville’s hardware manufacturing giant, and they were soon joined in the business by Heuser’s brother, Willard. In 1930, the store relocated to its current space in the newly constructed O’Neil Building, one of four hardware stores in downtown Jeffersonville at the time. Like much of the city, the business was submerged by the 1937 Ohio River flood. Stutzenberger even had to be rescued by boat from his apartment above the store.

Heuser’s current owners, twin brothers Tom and Bill Densford, started as employees in the 1980s and purchased the business about 16 years ago. They both admit that they were far from hardware experts when they started, but the older employees—including members of the Heuser and Stutzenberger families at the time—shared their years of experience. They also learned from the many contractors who frequent the shop. The store’s original motto, “We will work together doing our best to give the public perfect satisfaction, thereby assuring our success,” impressed upon them by the previous owners, continues to guide the business today, lightened with a generous number of dad jokes and tall tales.

Brothers Tom and Bill Densford have dedicated themselves to carrying on the traditions that have made Heuser Hardware a Jeffersonville institution for 100 years.

The Densfords credit the revitalization of downtown Jeffersonville and the surrounding neighborhoods for some of the lasting power of Heuser. “There are plenty of people living nearby and rehabbing homes these days, and Heuser Hardware is more convenient and user-friendly than the big box alternatives in the suburbs,” says Bill Densford.

Jay Ellis, executive director of Jeffersonville Main Street, echoes his sentiment, “We are so fortunate to have Heuser Hardware in downtown Jeffersonville. It’s a wonderful small business run by wonderful people. Just park next to the store, go in, and you immediately get help on whatever project you’re working on. You can stop in Heuser Hardware get your paint, grass seed, or have your screen door repaired, and also chat about the local sports teams. It’s a classic small town, Main Street USA, experience.”

In conjunction with the City of Jeffersonville, Heuser Hardware will celebrate its centennial during a special event at the store on June 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Watch Heuser’s Facebook page for details.