HUMBOLDT — The Humboldt Home Hardware has returned to local ownership.
Dean Possberg and Perry Manz, along with a group of investors, brought the store and took control December 2018. They celebrated with a grand reopening on June 6.
“I've been here since 2003 as an employee, so I know the store inside and out,” Manz said. It [owning the store] was the next logical step for me.”
Possberg said he was born and raised in Humboldt.
“I've been managing the store now for close to seven years, and an opportunity came up to buy the store, it just felt that was the thing to do,” he said. “I felt it was important to invest back into the community that I know so well. It's been a real blessing for me to have this opportunity.”
The current store was built by Tim Graf, who opened it up in 2000. He then sold it to a group that owned Home Hardware stores in Melfort, Kindersley and Prince Albert in 2009. Possberg and Manz took possession on Dec. 1, 2018.
“It's nice to see the Dean and Perry have stepped up with their investor group, purchased the franchise locally here and kept it local,” said Rob Muench, Humboldt’s mayor. “I think that's a testament to the confidence in our community, so it's nice to see that happen.”
The grand reopening began not with a ribbon-cutting, but the cutting of a 2x4 with a power saw. Both owners said they were excited as the 2x4 fell to the ground.
“I was thinking to myself, I hope this saw doesn't run out of juice,” Possberg said.
Manz said any future changes to the store will focus on pleasing the customer.
“We want to clean up the store, regenerate it a little bit, whatever it takes,” he said. “Right now we're going to slowly work at it, so it might be a few years before things really change but for now, we’ll keep going as it is.”
