Nashville’s independent neighborhood hardware stores fill a role that big-box retail cannot, stocking nails by the pound and screws by the piece, mixing paint to a chip a customer carries through the door, cutting keys while you wait, and pointing homeowners toward the right fastener or fitting before a Saturday project stalls. The three stores profiled below each belong to one of the three national hardware cooperatives, Ace Hardware Corp, True Value, or Do it Best Corp, which together supply the buying power and brand programs that keep small-format hardware viable, while ownership and day-to-day operations remain local. Each has served a defined Davidson County neighborhood for more than half a century and continues under family management or long-tenured local ownership.
Quick Comparison #
| Firm | Credentials | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Hillsboro Hardware | Mathias family ownership across four generations since 1964, Do it Best Corp cooperative affiliation, Nashville Scene best-of recognition | Nails by the pound, individual screw sales, custom-cut keys, glass cutting, lumber sizing, lamp and fixture repair, storm window and screen repair |
| Guthrie's Ace Hardware | Three-generation Guthrie family ownership since 1968 on a 1951 founding, Ace Hardware Corporation cooperative member, three Tennessee locations | Paint color matching, key cutting with auto programming, screen repair, propane refill, glass repair, mower-blade sharpening, lock servicing |
| Cumberland Hardware | Varallo family ownership since 1984, century-plus Five Points anchor on Woodland Street, fully independent without cooperative affiliation | Hardware, plumbing, electrical, hand tools, paint, individual fasteners, storefront window repair, lock repair, vintage lamp rewiring including overseas conversion |
1. Hillsboro Hardware #
Hillsboro Hardware sits on 21st Avenue South in the heart of Hillsboro Village and has been there since 1964, when Tom Mathias bought what had been Felts Hardware through the 1950s and renamed the store. The Mathias family has owned and operated the business for four generations, with Dwight Mathias serving as president, and the shop has been voted Nashville’s best hardware year after year by readers and writers of the Nashville Scene. The store is affiliated with Do it Best Corp, the Fort Wayne based member-owned hardware cooperative, which supplies the inventory program behind the storefront.
The product floor still sells nails by the pound and screws individually for customers who need one fastener rather than a clamshell pack, and the service counter handles custom cut keys, glass cutting, and lumber sizing on-site. The shop is also widely known for lamp, fixture, and chandelier repair work, along with storm window and screen repair, services that have become harder to find as larger retailers consolidate inventory around new-product sales. Paint, plumbing fittings, electrical parts, hand tools, garden supplies, and household hardware round out an inventory packed onto a compact neighborhood footprint.
Hillsboro Hardware is located at 2204 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212, and the store line is (615) 292-6683. The shop has anchored Hillsboro Village retail through multiple cycles of neighborhood change while keeping its repair-counter focus intact.
https://www.doitbest.com/hillsboro-hardware-tn/
2. Guthrie’s Ace Hardware #
Guthrie’s Ace Hardware opened on Charlotte Pike in 1951 and came under sole Guthrie family ownership in 1968, and the business now spans three generations with Cole Guthrie as president and owner. The store is part of the Ace Hardware Corporation, the retailer-owned cooperative headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, which gives small independent operators access to private-label products, paint programs, and the national Ace rewards platform while leaving the storefront under local ownership. Guthrie’s added a Goodlettsville location in 2008 and a Chapel Hill location in 2018, but the Charlotte Pike flagship remains the original Nashville address.
The Nashville store handles paint color matching and mixing, key cutting with auto key programming, screen repair, propane refill and exchange, glass cutting and glass repair, lawn mower blade sharpening, and grill maintenance, alongside a full hardware floor covering plumbing, electrical, fasteners, hand and power tools, lawn and garden, and home goods. Lock servicing, shed installation, and local delivery round out the service menu, and the staff carries the Ace Helpful Place reputation for walking a customer to the aisle rather than pointing across the store.
Guthrie’s Ace Hardware is at 6401 Charlotte Pike, Nashville, TN 37209, with a phone line at (615) 356-0560. Hours run Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., a schedule built around the West Nashville homeowner who needs a part before or after a workday.
https://www.acehardware.com/store-details/00855
3. Cumberland Hardware #
Cumberland Hardware has anchored the Five Points corner of East Nashville on Woodland Street for more than a century, making it the oldest hardware store in the city and one of the last historic downtown-adjacent hardware businesses still trading from its original neighborhood storefront. John and Shelia Varallo have operated the spot since 1984, carrying it into the second generation of Varallo family ownership, and the store has stayed independent rather than affiliating with one of the national cooperatives, an unusual position in a sector that runs heavily on co-op buying.
The product mix leans toward the practical inventory an old neighborhood needs: hardware, plumbing parts, electrical fittings, hand tools, paint, and household supplies, with screws and bolts sold individually for the customer who needs one rather than a packaged set. The repair counter has been working on storefront windows since the business was founded, and lock repair and vintage lamp rewiring, including conversion of lamps brought back from overseas to U.S. wiring standards, have been added as community demand grew. The store also runs a long-standing job-training partnership with local high schools through six-week after-school rotations, and following the 2020 Nashville tornadoes, the spot distributed free supplies to East Nashville neighbors who had lost roofs and windows.
Cumberland Hardware is at 1018 Woodland Street, Nashville, TN 37206, with the store line at (615) 227-1240. Hours are Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Sunday.
Choosing the Right Hardware Store for Your Project #
The three Nashville hardware stores above bring distinct neighborhood profiles and service mixes. Hillsboro Hardware in Hillsboro Village pairs four generations of Mathias family ownership with a deep repair-counter tradition, particularly for lamp and fixture work, storm window and screen rebuilds, and custom glass and lumber cutting, all under the Do it Best Corp banner. Guthrie’s Ace Hardware on Charlotte Pike offers the largest single-store inventory of the three and the full Ace Hardware Corporation paint, propane, and key-programming service menu, with extended evening and weekend hours that fit around a working schedule. Cumberland Hardware in East Nashville’s Five Points carries the longest local history, a fully independent ownership posture outside the national co-ops, and a continuing focus on individually sold fasteners, storefront window repair, and lamp rewiring that few other shops in Davidson County still handle. Matching the project, whether mixing a quart of paint, rekeying a lock, repairing a screen, or rewiring a vintage lamp, to the strengths of each business produces the best result.
Selection Methodology #
A Nashville hardware shortlist sorts on three signals: longevity (50-plus year continuous operation under named family ownership), co-op membership status (Ace Hardware, True Value, Do it Best Corp) or documented full independence from the co-op structure, and service-counter mix (key cutting, glass cutting, screen rebuild, propane refill, individual-fastener bins, lock and paint counters with named manufacturer relationships). The three stores above each carry 50-plus years of Davidson County operation, document family ownership lineage through local press, list co-op or independent status clearly, publish service-counter scope on the floor plan, hold authorized-dealer relationships with Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams, or Hudson Paint where the paint counter operates, and tie the brand to a verifiable street address. Pop-up tool resellers were excluded.
Frequently Asked Questions #
Q: How was each store verified?
A: Each address was confirmed against the store’s own published website or Facebook page for street address, phone, and service mix, with Ace Hardware Corporation cooperative status confirmed for Guthrie’s, Do it Best Corp affiliation confirmed for Hillsboro Hardware, and independent ownership outside the national co-ops confirmed for Cumberland Hardware. Family-ownership lineage was confirmed against published founder and generational disclosures.
Q: What sets these three apart from the broader Nashville hardware field?
A: Multi-generational family ownership runs through each store (four generations of Mathias at Hillsboro, three at Guthrie’s, the Varallo line at Cumberland), and that lineage shows on the floor as staffed repair counters, key-cutting and screen-rescreening capacity, and a buying mix that doesn’t bend to whatever the big-box endcap is pushing this quarter. The cooperative or independent buying structure (Ace, Do it Best, or fully independent) is the inventory backbone; what separates these three from a chain is that the person behind the counter knows what’s actually in the back room and what the next-door tradesman walked in asking for last Tuesday.
Q: Are any of the three stores paid placements?
A: No. The three profiles above are editorial selections drawn from publicly verifiable sources. No store sponsored placement.
Q: How should I plan a first visit?
A: Check the published hours (Cumberland is closed Sunday and runs short Saturday hours, Hillsboro and Guthrie’s operate seven days), the service desk emphasis, return and exchange policy, special-order lead times, and any appointment requirements. For specialty repair (lamp rewiring with overseas conversion, storefront window rebuild, lock service) call ahead about staff scheduling and bring the original part or fixture for sizing.
Editorial Note #
This guide was published on 2026-05-11 and reflects research current as of that date. Verify licenses, phone numbers, and current business status before engaging any firm.