About Hardwick's

Hardwick's is a family-owned and operated hardware store located in the heart of the University District in Seattle, Washington. Passed down through three generations, Hardwick's is rich in family tradition. Grandfather Charles Dean Hardwick established the business as a secondhand store in 1932 after he lost his real estate company in the market crash. Starting with his own office furniture as the original inventory, Grandfather Hardwick's business continued to thrive in the Depression era by including factory seconds and damaged freight from the Milwaukee Road and Union Pacific Railroad and by purchasing goods from the public.

In 1936, his son, Dean Ernest Hardwick, opened a second store at the current site. But when Father Hardwick enlisted during World War II, Grandfather Hardwick chose to combine the two stores at the second location in 1938. After the war, father and son ran the business together until Grandfather Hardwick retired in the late 1940s. Continuing with the family tradition, Father Hardwick's three sons began working at the store as young children, cleaning and scraping used tools in the back lot.

Since 1976, Hardwick & Sons, Inc. has been run by two of the brothers, the eldest, William Dean and the youngest, Dean James. As the neighborhood changes, the focus of Hardwick's has shifted from furniture to tools and hardware. Known for its wide selection of hard-to-find items and unique tools, Hardwick's continues to change with the times while never letting go of its roots. The store is still a swap shop, paying cash or store credit for used goods. Among the new tools, you will find used ones, as well as furniture, housewares, plumbing, electrical, and hardware. And every once in awhile, you can meet a customer or two who once knew the original Hardwick owner of the original Hardwick's store.

Launched in 2002, eHardwicks.com is a subdivision of Hardwick & Sons, Inc. and is the family's answer to reaching customers outside the Pacific Northwest and across the world.