x
Breaking News
More () »

Driscoll's Home Center opens in Old Forge

After another hardware store closed here last year, people were thrilled to welcome the Driscoll family into Old Forge.

OLD FORGE, Pa. — Opening day at Driscoll's Home Center in Old Forge was a family affair for owner Dennis Driscoll.

He says it was always his dream to open a second location—the first is in West Pittston—and it sounds like he picked the right place.

"You can feel the energy in the air. When we put the message out that we were going to open, people from all over town continued to support us, cheered us on, and it just kept us going. Because I gotta be honest with you, it was stressful," he said. 

Driscoll says the biggest obstacles were finding enough workers, and getting the store stocked, as manufacturers are still dealing with shortages of some products.

"It has been a challenge, I'm not gonna lie. The banks kind of thought we were taking a risk at that time, but we thought it was calculated, and we knew that there was a lot of success here."

This used to be home to ACE Hardware, which closed in November of last year so folks in Old Forge have been without a nearby hardware store for about eight months.

"It was tough, because every time you needed something small, you had to run all the way up to Home Depot or Lowe's, and the ACE Hardware took forever to open on Birney Avenue. It's so convenient to have this right here," said Gus Talerico from Old Forge. 

"I'm right across the street, so this makes it super easy. I kind of missed ACE when they left, so this is welcome to have the pretty much same exact store," said Ryan Rignanesi from Old Forge. 

Customers are also happy to welcome a family-owned business into town.

"Because, you know, hopefully, he'll stay here. We got Rossi's Market just opened up again on Oak Street. Maybe people will start coming back now, help build up the town," said Talerico.

Driscoll's Home Center is open seven days a week in Old Forge: Monday-Saturday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Before You Leave, Check This Out