BY MAGGIE BEAMGUARD, Insider Editor
Burney Hardware, a Moore County business staple for generations and a relatively recent addition to Seven Lakes, has grown by two acres. The Seven Lakes location acquired the adjacent property earlier this year.
The addition fits into the company’s larger business plan to expand the store. One of the two acres has already been put to use as a yard for large commodities such as corrugated drain pipe, lumber, stone, pine straw, potting soils, mulch, and hay.
“The main thing we want to provide is convenience,” says store Owner/Operator Sam Ransdell. “It’s a huge yard and it allows contractors to come in with their trucks and trailers. We’ve tried to make it as convenient as possible to drive on one side and drive out the other.”
The drive-thru yard is one way that Ransdell aims to compete with the big box stores.
By the fall, the store plans to add hydraulic hose fabrication and repair services.
“There are a lot of farmers in the area, and a lot of construction going on in the area. And when an excavator or skid steer or some other type of farm equipment goes down, it’s often due to a hydraulic line that’s busted or broken,” Ransdell said. “So we’ll have the ability to fix that right here at Seven Lakes. There is currently nowhere else to go in Seven Lakes for that service, so that would be a huge asset to the area.”
Providing a convenient customer experience is a Burney Hardware priority.
“We try to have everything priced very clearly out there. We don’t want people to have to wander around and wonder about how much things cost. Our biggest thing is convenience: in-and-out, quick, convenience.”
One way they make shopping easier is by providing Pick Tickets.
“We have mailboxes labeled “pick tickets,” Ransdell explains. “People just open the box, take out the ticket and write down what product they are wanting and bring it inside to the counter. So you don’t have to tote bags of fertilizer and mulch and all this heavy stuff inside. Just write down what you want and we load it for you.”
The other recently purchased acre will soon be upgraded with amenities to create a flexible space for community events.
“What I’d like to do with that is have it as a community gathering area. There will be grass there and it will be graded so there won’t be any drainage issues,” he says. “What we are going to do is have 50 amp power and water hookups for food trucks and a few tables.”
In addition to supporting food trucks, Ransdell envisions an array of possibilities for the space, from a possible Christmas tree stand in the holiday season to a farmer’s market to what he calls a maker’s mart. “What I’d like to do at the maker’s mart is allow people to come for a weekend or or maybe a Saturday and have a booth and sell their locally made stuff.”
He believes having all that structure in the ground will make it convenient for folks with different interests and needs to use. “Basically it’s a community area for the community to use,” he says.
Ransdell aims to have the space ready by fall.
“We’re looking at maybe doing trunk-or-treating out there and maybe a hay ride. So we’ve got a lot of cool local events we are considering.” The space will be available to use for an as yet undetermined fee. Ransdell invites interested parties to contact him at the store.
Gus Burney opened the first Burney Hardware in downtown Aberdeen in 1921. Eventually the original store moved out to U.S. 15-501. They expanded to Seven Lakes in 2018.
Ransdell says he enjoys doing business in Seven Lakes.
“Number one: everyone is super friendly up here. But number two: everything is close by. Everyone looks out for one another. It feels like a tight knit family.
One of the good things is that the businesses up here — and not just Burney Hardware but any of them — can support the community a lot more easily than in a bigger area. Seven Lakes is Moore County’s absolute gem.”
It is the little details that make Burney’s feel like a family place. One of those details is the cardboard trailer behind the store. The store’s merchandise boxes are stored on the truck and are available for free for anyone who needs moving boxes. You can’t drop boxes off, but folks are welcome to what is there. As Ransdell says, for Burney Hardware it’s all about convenience.
Contact Maggie Beamguard at (910) 693-2496 or maggie@thepilot.com.
