MOSES LAKE — They’re still filling shelves and putting together merchandise, but the doors are open at the new Ag Supply Ace Hardware store in Moses Lake. The doors opened for business Thursday, with the grand opening scheduled for May 4 through 6.

The store is located at 601 S. Pioneer Way, in the space previously occupied by the Hastings bookstore.

The building is “roughly about 18,000 square feet,” said Ag Supply operations manager Lonnie Kirk. The company is based in Wenatchee and has outlets in Quincy and Ephrata, as well as Wenatchee, Brewster, East Wenatchee, Sultan, Puyallup and Bremerton.

“We put a lot of work” into the remodeled space, Kirk said. Moses Lake is a competitive market, but “we don’t have a store that is not in a competitive market. Most of our stores are within a stone’s throw of a Lowe’s, a Home Depot, True Value or Tractor Supply. Having a good competitive market is a good thing,” he wrote.

“We feel that Moses Lake fits our market area very well.”

As a central Washington company, Ag Supply focuses on merchandise that fits the needs of central Washington customers, he said.

The store has most things hardware – tools and paint (including brands exclusive to Ace, Clark+Kensington and Amy Howard), electrical supplies and replacement light fixtures for consumers and electricians, lots of plumbing supplies. “We’re really large into plumbing,” including fixtures like sinks and toilets.

The store is the exclusive dealer for Stihl chainsaws and lawn equipment, and Big Green Egg barbecue grills. “I guarantee other hardware stores don’t have Stihl,” he said.

Fasteners can be purchased individually. “You can come to us and you can buy one bolt,” he said. “We sell a lot of singles (fasteners).”

The new Ag Supply-Ace carries dog and cat food, canning supplies and cast-iron cookware, charcoal and gas barbecue grills. The first shelves of spring flowers are out and there will be more to come, he said. The garden department also includes patio furniture and supplies like potting soil. Ag Supply-Ace will be able to make keys with computer chips, as well as standard keys.

Kirk said the company focuses on customer service as a way to stand out. “”Without the customer, you have nothing.” As a result its stores work to improve customer service, and in Kirk’s opinion it’s paid off. “We have the best customer service.”

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].