Adam's Hardware opening in former Rite Aid location

Chris and Justin Taffera sought to open a hardware store to honor their late brother, Adam, and found a spot to fill a need in the Scranton community.

The Taffera brothers - who have experience with apartment buildings and flipping houses - started recognizing how much money they were spending at hardware stores and decided to pursue opening their own shop.

"My brother, Chris, said we should have a hardware store," Justin Taffera said. "Every Sunday, when we were at my mom's for dinner, he kept bringing it up. I started looking into it and before I knew it, I was like, ‘I think you're right. We should open a hardware store.'"

When Adam Taffera died in 2023 at the age of 37, Chris and Justin Taffera ramped up their search for a vacant space to establish the business.

"Right after our brother passed, we started looking everywhere for a store," Justin Taffera said. "We're all from Dunmore and we tried to stay in Dunmore but it didn't work out. Trying to find a 10,000-square-foot building is a little tricky. We were looking down in Wilkes-Barre, Kingston and Archbald. We put in some offers, had some negotiations back and forth, but nobody wanted to let us buy the building outright."

Then, the Tafferas found the property at 500 N. Main Ave. - formerly home to a Rite Aid store - and agreed to a contract where they will purchase the building after leasing it for two years, Justin Taffera said.

A grand opening for Adam's Hardware - a TrueValue store - will be held May 15 following a soft opening this month.

Following some discussions, the Tafferas decided to pay homage to their brother, Adam, with the name of the business.

"We kept going back and forth, and one day, one of us said we should name it after Adam," Justin Taffera said. "We needed something quick and we were doing it for him regardless. What a better way to have Adam's name on the building of a place me and my older brother get to go to every day, work together, and really provide something for the community with our brother's legacy. It's such a huge part of our family. We were brought up so close to each other."

The Taffera brothers believe the new hardware store will be a valuable addition to the West Scranton neighborhood as there are none in the immediate area.

"You have to drive over to Keyser Avenue for a Gerrity's Ace or you have to jump on the highway and go to Lowe's or Home Depot," Justin Taffera said. "From our store down through the downtown and over to South Side, there are very little to no hardware stores. That's how we kind of ended up at that location. After we did the demographics, the pro formas and the traffic studies, it was kind of a no-brainer."

After initially considering operating an Ace Hardware franchise, the Tafferas opted to go with TrueValue.

"Our plan was to go with Ace, and after we saw the franchise side of it, we loved TrueValue," Justin Taffera said. "They've helped us tremendously and we've met so many great people. TrueValue gives you a little bit more freedom. If you sold paintbrushes, I could sell your paintbrushes in our TrueValue. I think having that community feel, especially in this part of Pennsylvania, is such a big deal."

Justin Taffera noted the brothers aim to open another hardware store within the next two years.

Chris Taffera also feels the new business should thrive and serve a vital purpose on North Main Avenue.

"I think the store could provide a crucial asset to a part of town where there is no hardware store," he said. "The most important thing is that we're doing it as a family. We had a lot of fun with this project."

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