On Retail: A bigger space for Middleton Farmers Cooperative’s hardware store | Business News

There was much excitement last month when it was announced that hardware stores were returning to Cottage Grove Road on Madison’s East Side and to a shopping center in Cross Plains.

But a Middleton hardware store has also made a big change that is giving the business greater visibility and 10 times the space when compared to its former location.

The Middleton Farmers Cooperative has moved its Do It Best hardware operation out of its 2,200-square-foot space next to its convenience store on Pleasant View Road and into a 22,000-square-foot adjacent property that for years was home to Fish Building Supply. More recently it was home to a Builders First Source, which last summer consolidated its operations to its facility south of Cottage Grove Road and just east of Stoughton Road.

The co-op, which already had seven acres, purchased the 14-acre property at the intersection of Pleasant View Road and Highway 14 last summer and spent several months preparing the building for its new use. The store opened Feb. 7 and still needs new lighting, an exterior painting and better signage but has allowed the store to showcase all of its offerings in one space instead of storing most of it in other buildings.

The new store is also providing ample space for rental equipment like skid loaders, augers, rototillers, tile cutters and saws. A gated area outside the building means that larger equipment, like wood chippers and eventually lifts, can be securely stored but be seen from the road by passing motorists.

“We spent a lot of time running between three storage buildings but now everyone sees the complete picture of what we have going on here,” said Tim Stelpflug, the store’s manager. “It’s turned out as well as anyone could have imagined.”

The business is a farm supply co-op that was formed in 1928 in Middleton by farm producers but no membership is needed to shop at the store. With annual revenues of about $29 million, sales consist primarily of petroleum product, feed and hardware and confections, according to its website. The co-op supplies over 120 commercial landscaping companies but also sells bulk mulch, landscaping stone, paver base and other landscaping materials in a gated yard just east of the building.

The co-op has a convenience store in Middleton’s downtown but the new hardware store facility holds racks of grass seed, bins of seed potatoes and onions, pallets of dog and cat food and aisles filled with hand and garden tools, farm accessories, rows of wheel barrows and seed spreaders, ladders, bags of cement and jugs of oils and lubricants.

A grand opening celebration is tentatively set for July.

“We’ve become more efficient and we have room to grow,” Stelpflug said. “There’s only so much you can do with 2,200 square feet.”

For those curious about electric bikes, there will three days later this month in which rides will be free.

Bosch eBike Systems, a division of Bosch Group, has teamed up with BCycle to offer free electric bike ride-share access in eight cities across the country, including Madison, on Earth Day, April 22 through April 24. The effort is being done to raise awareness about electric bikes as “a sustainable, fun, and safe mode of transportation,” with the ultimate goal of reducing the country’s carbon output.

“Earth Day is an important reminder of how we must be more mindful of our impact on the environment,” Claudia Wasko, vice president of Bosch eBike Systems Americas, said in a press release. “Mobility accounts for more than one fifth of all CO2 emissions worldwide, and riding an (electric bike) is an amazing way to help lower this amount.”

The free ride pass can be accessed by downloading and using the BCycle app by selecting “Bosch Earth Day Pass,” which grants riders unlimited 60-minute trips. For rides that are more than 60 minutes, riders will accrue the same usage fees that would be applied otherwise in their local BCycle system. Madison is home to over 50 BCycle stations, nine of which were added in 2021. Another eight will be added this year, according to Helen Bradley, Madison BCycle’s general manager.

“Our goal this year and for the next few years to come, is to continue to meet people where they are and expand access to BCycle with new stations and more e-bikes, creating a more regional bike share program,” Bradley said last month. “By creating a more wide-reaching bike share program, we can help generate a greater impact with farther reach as a viable public transportation option that people rely on each day,” added Bradley.

A clothing brand from Mount Horeb-based Duluth Trading Co. that has primarily consisted of cold-weather products is expanding to more seasons and getting a new name.

Alaskan Hardgear is now AKHG and will offer an expanded product line in an effort to tap into increases in outdoor activities like hiking, camping and fishing, according to the company.

The new AKHG line will include a women’s collection for the first time and offer more sizes up to 4X. The offerings include the Crosshaul Collection, which is three times more abrasion-resistant than regular cotton and allows for better movement and shape recovery due to its 2% spandex.

The Renew Bamboo Collection features short-sleeve shirt and similar styles made with bamboo into a rayon fabric that is blended with recycled polyester and spandex to enhance moisture-wicking and sun-blocking power while AKGH’s Olympic Coast Raingear is built to withstand high winds and rain.

Another line, Perfection Loop Fishing Shirts, named after a fly fishing knot, are made with a lightweight, free-moving nylon blend and are described as “sweat-wicking, fast-drying, and snag resistant.” The shirts feature six pockets, adjustable cuffs, convertible sleeves and a hook-and-loop that allows a fishing rod to be held in place so that two hands can be used to tie on tippet or a new fly or remove a trout from a hook.