Jay Harrison reveals family history is more than hardware

 

You know them, and chances are good they know you, too. Even if you think they don’t, few customers — or should we say neighbors and friends? — escape the quiet attention of Harrison’s Hardware owners Jay and Jack Harrison.

But it isn’t strictly business with the Harrisons; something they learned well from their father, Fred Harrison, as he made his way through life following his heart and serving the community of Santa Ynez in countless capacities. 

 

Originally from England, Fred moved his wife, Ella, and their four boys Jack, Jay, Richard and Patrick from New York to Los Angeles in 1950, when Jay was 10 years old.

“It was the New York snow that brought us to California. My father’s friends had moved out here and bragged about the sunshine and warm weather; that was all it took,” Jay explained.

An industrialist by trade, Fred Harrison opened a metal fabricating shop in Santa Monica, and many years later learned about Santa Ynez on a golfing trip with Ella, at the Alisal, in the early ’60s. They eventually bought 80 acres off what is now Meadowlark, built a home, and started a purebred Angus Ranch with the help of valley native Gordon Young.

 

No stranger to trying new things, the Elder Harrison retired from ranching in the early ’70s and went into partnership with Bill Hanly, owner of Solvang Hardware. The two were partners until Harrison purchased a home on a commercially zoned plot of land on Edison Street.

“Not sure how it happened, but the house burned down,” Jay explained with a shrug, “Could have been an accident; we’ll never really know.”

A family secret perhaps, but with the house gone, Harrison amicably split from Hanly and was free to build a commercial shopping center that housed a hardware store, drug store, watch repair, TV repair and a liquor store.

 

“A hardware store had always been a dream of my father’s. He talked about it often, even from when I was kid,” Jay said.

With another dream checked off the list, Fred Harrison sold the business to his three sons, Jack, Richard and Patrick, in 1978 and went on to spend his retirement spearheading the inception of institutions such as Los Padres Bank (formerly Santa Ynez Valley Savings), Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital (formerly Santa Ynez Valley Hospital), and Friendship House, as well as serving with the Vikings, Rancheros Visitadores and as Foreman of the County Grand Jury. Harrison served as Chairman of the Board for Los Padres Bank until his official retirement at 88, and lived at Friendship House with Ella, his wife of 70 years, until their passing at ages 93 and 95, respectively.

Five years after Fred Harrison passed the hardware torch onto his sons, Jay relocated from the San Fernando Valley  to the Santa Ynez Valley, bought a share of the business and eventually partnered with Jack and bought out Richard, who went on to open Lompoc Ace Hardware in 2000. By then Harrison’s Hardware had grown, annexing most of the complex’s shops, save the liquor store.

 

“Since Santa Ynez has always been a service town built to serve the local community, we have expanded to provide the things people need every day. We really listen to our customers, the contractors, plumbers, electricians, ranchers and tradesmen who buy from us. If we don’t have something, let’s see if we can get it and maybe even start stocking it,” Jay said.

 

“That’s where my brother Jack is a really important part of the business. He is totally focused on customer satisfaction. If we are going to do something we stock the whole line and we stock deep, offering variety and quantity,” he said.

For the Harrison brothers, the goal is not necessarily to move large quantities of inventory or stock big ticket items. They are interested in providing an opportunity for customers to buy what they need locally without spending a lot of money, and without spending time driving to Santa Barbara or Santa Maria.

 

When asked about “big box” stores, Jay doesn’t really see them as competition — except, perhaps, an Orchard Supply Hardware, which is a bona fide hardware store, albeit large-scale, with knowledgeable employees who can actually help you find what you need. In other words, Harrison’s on a larger scale, but, of course, with the small town charm, and with the most important component — the Harrison brothers at the helm.

But because of the distance, not even OSH is considered a Harrison’s competitor.

In Jay’s opinion, big retailers like Home Depot, suffer from a down economy. Not the case with neighborhood stores like Harrison’s.

“Even if the economy is down and houses aren’t turning over, people still need a gallon of paint, and the essentials for home maintenance. Because of that, business stays solid,” he said.

 

But when the economy is booming and houses are turning over, as in the last 10 years, Jay observes that new home owners will spend more on improvements in the first year then in the 10 years following.

“And we’ve got what you need,” Jay said.

For the Harrison brothers, this kind of conscious dedication to serving the Santa Ynez Valley is a family tradition.