Photo by Chad Koenen
A large display of Milwaukee tools now lines one entire aisle at Cenex/Hardware Hank in New York Mills.

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

If you can’t find a product you need for a home maintenance project, chances are you are either not looking hard enough or you don’t need it in the first place. With 10,000 square feet of space, Cenex/Hardware Hank in New York Mills has just about everything a person could dream of for a home repair, your pet, yard maintenance or even just to fill your stomach with a quick bite to eat.

Recently, the expansive convenience store and gas station located just off of Highway 10 underwent a major face-lift at the pumps where new pumps were installed and a third blend of fuel was added. The convenience store now offers three different kinds of unleaded gas, as well as diesel fuel. The new pumps are a major upgrade at the convenience store and is just one of the changes it has underwent over the past year. 

The hardware side now offers a full line of Milwaukee brand tools. The popular brand features everything from heavy-duty power tools to hand tools, instruments, accessories and more. Cenex/Hardware Hank has a lot of the items, basically double that of most products on the hardware side of the store. 

The addition of Milwaukee tools are the first of several new products coming to the NY Mills store as Do It Best has merged with Hardware Hank. The merger between the hardware companies means the local hardware store will have access to more products at a lower price. 

Store manager Steven Greenwood said the additional products will be coming in over the next six months, but if someone needs a specific item, and it isn’t on the store shelves, the local hardware store can do their best to make custom orders to fill the needs of their customers.

The new products don’t even include the additions of a car wash last year, as well as an expanded food offering at the deli. The convenience store offers a wide variety of grab and go foods, as well as to-go orders for things like pizza and chicken. 

Due to the popularity of the food over the past year, an additional fryer will soon be installed to cook even more chicken at a faster rate.

“It is a good hit in town,” said Greenwood of the food.

The car wash has also been a big addition to the facility located just off the highway. The two-stall car wash features both a brush stall and one that is touchless. 

The store also features a Hero paint mixing machine. The machine is completely automatic and can mix up to a 5 gallon bucket of paint to an almost exact color match. So essentially, employees will no longer have to guess and match the paint color as it will all be completed with a few clicks of a button. 

The machine has been a welcome addition for customers who no longer have to wonder if one gallon of paint will match a previously purchased gallon.

In addition to deli items like pizza, chicken and food on the go; Cenex/Hardware Hank features a full line of Husqvarna products, home improvement items like painting, plumbing, a line of smokers, as well as bait and tackle. 

Ryan Leaderbrand has a repair shop in the back of the store to service and maintain small engine equipment like lawn mowers, weed trimmers, snow blowers and much more. 

Essentially, Cenex/Hardware Hank has just about everything a person could need to fix, replace or rejuvenate an item at home, all under one 10,000 square foot roof.

Cenex/Hardware Hank is open seven days a week and is located just off of Highway 10 in NY Mills.