Coltrain Hardware Wins Gold for Best Hardware Store in Pitt County

Last night, two of our own, Mayra and Pam, represented Coltrain Hardware and Garden Center at The Daily Reflector's Best of Pitt County ceremony. They came home with Gold in the Best Hardware Store category.

We'll be honest with you. This one hit us right in the heart.

This is the fourth year in a row Pitt County has named us its best hardware store. It never gets old, and it never feels like something we did alone.

This award isn't bought. It's voted on by the people of Pitt County, and that means it came from you. From the folks in Ayden who stop in for a handful of screws and stay twenty minutes to visit. From the customers who drive over from Greenville, Winterville, and Grifton because they'd rather be helped by a person than hunt for an aisle number. From the gardeners, the homesteaders, the weekend fixers, and everybody who has walked in with a broken part in a paper sack and asked if we had one like it.

You chose a locally owned hardware store in a small town, and then you told your neighbors about us. With big-box stores on every highway in Eastern North Carolina, that means more to us than we can put into words. Thank you.

Awards like this get are earned by the  people who show up each day. Our team is the reason Coltrain feels the way it does.

They're the ones who walk you to the right shelf instead of pointing. Who explain the fix, not just ring up the part. Who know our garden center well enough to help you pick the right soil and seed for your yard, and who keep your Stihl equipment running when you need it most. They remember your name, ask how the project turned out, and treat every question like it matters, because it does.

Mayra and Pam, thank you for representing all of us last night. And to every member of the Coltrain crew: we are so proud of you. This Gold is yours.

Being named the best hardware store in Pitt County doesn't mean we're going to start acting fancy. You'll get the same old-fashioned service and free, honest advice you've always gotten. The same full garden center. The same Stihl sales and service. The same brands you trust, like Milwaukee, Valspar, and Fertilome. And the same folks behind the counter who would rather help you get it right than sell you something you don't need.

That's what a hometown hardware store is supposed to be. A hardware store like the good 'ole days.

If you've never been in, now is a good time to see what your neighbors are talking about. We're at 524 Third Street in Ayden, NC, open Monday through Saturday, 8am to 6pm. Stop by, say hello, and let us thank you in person.

From all of us at Coltrain Hardware and Garden Center: thank you, Pitt County. We don't take a single vote for granted.