Hokah Hardware Keeps Small-Town Spirit Alive

Like many Main Street businesses, this small, well-stocked store struggles to stay open

By Greg Lovell, October 14, 2025

A classic small-town hardware store with a vintage gold-and-black sign reading “Hokah Hardware” painted across large front windows. The display window is filled with household items—glassware, pitchers, and metalware—while tables outside hold brightly colored bowls, tools, and small appliances for sale. The green storefront and wooden overhang evoke an old-fashioned Main Street charm.

The front entrance to Hokah Hardware along Main Street in Hokah. (Photo by Greg Lovell)

HOKAH — Carol Moore has seen many changes over the last 30 years. As a small-town business owner, she faces the same challenges many rural businesses deal with – declining sales, supply change hurdles and a mobile customer base that can easily pick up what they need from a box store on their daily commute from work.

Moore is part-owner of local landmark Hokah Hardware, and for over 35 years she has been a constant on the town’s Main Street.

Local history anchored on Main Street

Hokah Hardware goes back generations, with the earliest part of the building dating back to the early 1900s. Though always home to a hardware store, the building was at one time three separate stores, including a grocery store. The buildings were later remodeled and annexed to what it is today.

A close-up view of a wall lined with dozens of small, weathered wooden drawers labeled by hand and fitted with metal handles. One drawer is open, revealing shiny metal bolts inside. The drawers are aged and slightly scuffed, hinting at decades of use in a traditional hardware store.

An old-fashioned set of drawers holding bolts, still in use today. (Photo by Greg Lovell)

Moore herself is a Hokah native through and through. She grew up in Hokah, as did her parents and grandparents before her. She went to St. Peters from first grade through 12th grade and worked at the Hokah Co-op prior to taking over Hokah Hardware.

“My brother and I, Don Bissen, purchased it together,” Moore recalled. “We started buying surplus and closeout things.”

At the time, Moore and Bissen sold their surplus items through the hardware store but eventually made an offer to purchase the business outright. They continue selling their items as well as a full selection of hardware products.

Inside the hardware store, long aisles are tightly packed with colorful household goods—spatulas, clocks, pans, brushes, cleaning products, and kitchen utensils. Above the shelves, a retro red-and-yellow sign with bold letters reads “SEWARES” and “CLEANING SUPPLIES,” framed by patterned wallpaper from an earlier era.

Full shelves and large selections greet customers at Hokah Hardware. (Photo by Greg Lovell)

“We carry most of the basic hardware, plus giftware, greeting cards and housewares. There are some basic paint supplies and some gardening tools like rakes and shovels,” Moore continued.

More than “stuff,” customers find friends and familiar faces

As a longtime Hokah resident and business owner, Moore knows many of the locals. In fact, people are what she enjoys most about running Hokah Hardware.

“Just meeting people, meeting different people,” said Moore. “My friends keep stopping in to see me. It’s kind of a meeting place. It’s a social thing.”

Beyond a friendly smile and conversation, Moore says shopping small and local has advantages. Whether someone needs a greeting card, some odds and ends, or a specific piece of hardware in a pinch, the convenience of a nearby store is a nice amenity.

The sidewalk view captures the long wooden awning of Hokah Hardware extending down a quiet small-town street. Hanging wooden signs above the sidewalk point to “KEYS,” “BOLTS,” and “HOUSEWARES.” Tables and carts filled with assorted tools and merchandise line the storefront, while a few cars and motorcycles are parked under a bright blue sky.

A Main Street anchor, Hokah Hardware carries something for everyone. (Photo by Greg Lovell)

Changing times and the fight to stay open

Despite its history and tradition, Hokah Hardware has seen difficult changes to its business. Customers have changed how they shop which often eliminates them stopping in at a local store.

Nowadays, Moore says running the hardware store is more of a hobby than anything else.

“It’s gone down to almost nothing,” she said. “Big stores, people already in the bigger cities, so they stop before they come home. It’s just the way it is. Times change, and people change.”

Between discontinued products and distributors selling in larger quantities, Moore has had difficulty getting typical items.

“That works for bigger places, but not a small business,” Moore continued. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s kind of scary. I don’t know how long I can keep doing it.”

In the meantime, Moore is doing her best to provide customers with the basics as well as novelties. However, one thing she offers can never be replaced by an online store or big chain: personal touch.

Shelves filled with handcrafted stoneware pottery, including mugs, pitchers, and crocks, each stamped with the names of nearby Minnesota towns such as “Brownsville,” “La Crescent,” and “Caledonia.” The pottery is glazed in earthy tones of gray and blue, with leaf and branch designs adding a touch of rustic artistry.

Unique, locally themed pottery offers shoppers special souvenirs or gifts. (Photo by Greg Lovell)

Walking into the store, greeting Moore at the cash register, seeing the black and white photographs of its past history, and perusing the crammed-full aisles is a throwback to a simpler time, a time when we purchased most of our goods from people we know; walking the same aisles generations before us walked, seeing part of what they saw, is like living history.

There’s just something about an old hardware store that’s special, unique — and that’s worth preserving.

Contributor

Greg Lovell

Greg Lovell’s love of writing began in middle school and continues through today. He has written for numerous publications and enjoys the creative process and learning about new people, places, and professions. Originally from La Crescent, Greg has lived in the Coulee Region his whole life and currently resides in La Crosse with his wife and son.