Alabama family aces 60 years as owners of Chatom’s Andrews Hardware
Jon, Cat and Eric Odom rarely stand still in their Chatom hardware store. They stop long enough to pose near the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, which are tax free statewide during the fourth weekend of February. Before and after weather emergencies, the store is a lifeline for the community. (Nancy King Dennis/Alabama Retailer)
Since 1938, Andrews Hardware & Seed Store Inc. has served the people of Chatom, the county seat of Washington County. It’s where everyone gets their plumbing supplies, Yeti coolers and drinkware, boots and even bridal gifts. Originally owned by the Andrews family, the town’s hardware/everything store remains in the hands of locals.
“My grandfather (Lilburn Odom) came to Chatom in 1940 to run the store and later on my family bought it out from the Andrews sometime in the ‘60s,” Jon Odom said of the family owned and operated venture. “My dad, his older brother and younger sister oversaw it along with my grandfather.”
While the Odoms own the Chatom store, the Andrews family owns and operates other hardware stores under the Andrews name in deep southwest Alabama.
Dwain “Cat” Odom, 72, still puts in about 40 hours a week at Andrews Hardware & Seed Store, which his father bought from the Andrews family 60 years ago after running the store for two decades previously. (Nancy King Dennis/Alabama Retailer)
Dwain “Cat” Odom, Jon’s 72-year-old father, continues to answer the phone at the 92 Granade Ave. business and help customers find the right thingamajig they need, working right beside sons Jon and Eric. Since 2017, those three have fully owned and operated the business. Jon said he and Eric work 50-plus hours a week, while their father clocks in about 40 hours a week. At times, you can find them three abreast at the hardware counter in the back of the expansive store that fronts an entire block.
Jon, Cat and Eric Odom rarely stand still in their store. They stop long enough to pose for a photo near the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, which are tax-free statewide during the fourth weekend of February. Before and after weather emergencies, the store is a lifeline for the community.
While the business continues to grow and progress with the times, Cat said he leaves operating the “computers,” aka the registers, to his sons.
Andrews Hardware converted from a True Value to an Ace store in 2017. The Odoms welcomed the change with a remodel, celebrating the new look in November 2018. While the store got a facelift, the friendly faces that customers recognize stayed the same.
“Most or our employees are long term. We have employees who stay with us until they retire,” Jon said. “Arthur White, one of the guys in the back, has been with us 22 or 23 years and Daniele Roberts, who helps in the front of the store, has been there about the same length of time, too.”
The store employs 13 full time and six part time.
“We try to provide a good service,” Jon said. “No telling the number of times I have opened up the store on a Sunday to get a pump or water heater, because that stuff just happens and can’t wait,” he said, describing what owning a one-stop shop entails for many.
“It’s rewarding to get to help people and actually see you’re doing some good,” Jon said, explaining that the business strives to be an active member of the Chatom community. Andrews Ace Hardware makes donations to high schools, youth teams and organizations.
With the community’s support and expanding inventory, Jon doesn’t see any sign of slowing down and he hopes to expand in the future.
Before and after the storm
Through the pandemic and the past year in general, business at Andrews Hardware boomed. Chatom and its hardware store are no strangers to Alabama’s severe weather. Along with other storms, Hurricane Zeta affected the area and even dismantled the “E” in the relatively new Ace store sign.
“We sold just north of 100 generators” in the last five months of 2020, Jon said. “We were threatened by (Hurricane Laura) in August and sold a bunch then, and when Zeta came through in October we sold even more.”
The Zeta damage wasn’t repaired overnight, as many homeowners and businesses continued to make improvements with the help of the store well into December and January. “We sold shingles and metal roofing, because a lot of people got roof damage,” he said, so much so that the stock received went out as soon as it arrived. On Dec. 10, a federal major disaster declaration was issued for seven Alabama counties, including Washington County. The declaration makes businesses and nonprofits in the covered areas eligible for SBA loans.
Andrews Ace Hardware just off Alabama Highway 17 in Chatom is open 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Visit on Facebook @andrewsinchatom.
10th annual Severe Weather Sales Tax Holiday
Alabama’s 10th annual severe weather tax holiday from Feb. 26 to 28 is a time to stock up and save on necessities at stores like Andrews Ace Hardware. State officials designed the three-day, tax-free weekend to occur before the height of tornado and hurricane seasons.
“Flashlights, extra gas cans and generator fuel” are among the top sellers at Andrews Ace Hardware when a storm travels through, Jon Odom said. During the tax holiday, the state’s 4% sales tax is waived on common emergency supplies costing less than $60, as well as generators costing $1,000 or less.
Learn more about Alabama’s severe weather preparedness sales tax holiday.
This story originally appeared in the Alabama Retailer.
