Hassett Hardware’s Redwood City store on the mend

It will be up to insurance to decide how much of the floor needs to be replaced, and although the estimate should come any day, there’s still a relatively lengthy road before loyal patrons can return. 

“I’m still saying May,” Hassett said. “It may be closer to May 1 or it may be closer to May 31, but I’m sticking to it.” 

The Redwood City location of the Hassett family’s business enterprise — which operates six storefronts — has been open for nearly 13 years. In that time, three cars have crashed into the shop, Hassett said. 

In the first two instances, the car crashed into the exterior wall limiting the impact on the interior store, but the recent crash that ran through the glass windows raised serious safety concerns for both customers and employees. 

The repairs will largely be what is absolutely necessary to reopen the shop, but some reorganization may happen to optimize sales and, most impactfully, Hassett is looking to install bollards outside the shop. 

“The safety of my employees and customers is paramount,” Hassett said. “Even moving the cashiers from working near the glass window to behind the stucco and plastered wall would be a little safer, but they’ll also be something on the other side to protect them as well.” 

The frequency of crashes into the shop is not a unique experience; many storefronts in shopping plazas face this safety hazard, Hassett said. 

Hassett was cooking dinner when he got the call that a car crashed into the Redwood City shop that evening of Dec. 15. Within minutes, firefighters responded to the call and it took about 20 minutes to put the fire out. 

“We don’t have an execution guide for what should happen when a car crashes into the store,” Hassett said, but in that short span of time employees moved quickly.  

The sheer nature of working in a hardware store uniquely prepared the employees uniquely to respond to the situation, Hassett said. 

Serving the community and making sure people have supplies in emergencies is exactly why Hassett works in the family business, he said. This value is instilled among employees and strengthens their ability to come to aid in a time of need, Hassett said. 

José Manuel Urrea and Ricky Pera, employees who assisted with evacuating customers and the driver of the crashed car, were recognized by the Redwood City Council at its Feb. 9 meeting. Hassett said he couldn’t be prouder. 

Once the plan for the repaired floors is made, shelving needs to be installed and it will take between six to seven weeks to fill the shop up with inventory again, Hassett estimates. 

In the meantime, residents are waiting with bated breath. 

Anytime Hassett is seen in public, he’s often asked how much longer it will be until the shop reopens. Although residents feel the loss of the local small business, most of the time customers are enthusiastic about supporting the business at its other locations. 

“It’s about the end game and, if it’s to make as much money as possible, a lot gets sacrificed, that personal touch,” Hassett said. “When the goal is to support and serve the community, those are the stores that resonate with people.”