Before Home Depot and Lowe's There was Zepeda Hardware
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon
It's happened to all of us. You're walking to the kitchen one fine morning. You pull on the handle to open one of your cabinets, but instead of reaching in to pull out a cereal bowl, you notice the handle to the cabinet has broken off and you're now holding it in your hand. You say a few curse words as you get dressed and drive down to the Home Depot. You walk in to the massive store and quickly come to a startling realization — for such a big building there sure aren't nearly enough employees to help you find what you're looking for. You eventually find your way to the aisle where the cabinet handles are, pick out the handle that matches the one in your pocket, then march to the self-checkout stand where you have to act like employee and customer as you ring yourself up. You walk out and head back home to replace the handle, realizing you don't even have the right screws to fasten the damn thing to the cabinet...
Maybe this time you'll try Lowe's instead.
This isn't how a trip to the local hardware store used to be. Brownsville once had several smaller hardware stores. Handy Dan was off the expressway and would later be a Bud's Wholesale Outlet and a Convergys call center before turning into a vocational school. Builder's Square would occupy the land where a drive-in movie theater was on Boca Chica Boulevard before becoming a Dollar Tree and a U-Haul storage place. Downtown also had a couple of hardware stores. One of them was on East Jefferson and 14th Street. Brownsville Hardware was located right next to the Lopez Supermarket and the VTC Bus Terminal (that just happened to have an excellent lunch counter in back — Johnny's). The entire block would eventually be razed and replaced by the new Metro Bus Terminal. Another was located at 1128 East Washington Street.
Zepeda Hardware was opened in Downtown Brownsville in 1965. Enrique Zepeda had run a hardware store in San Benito for two decades before deciding to open a second location in Brownsville. Zepeda was a World War II veteran, serving in the Army Air Corps where he flew over 60 combat missions as an aerial gunner on board a B-26 bomber. Among his many decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross and 14 Air Medals. Zepeda also served as a San Benito city commissioner for 8 years.
Zepeda sold all kinds of hardware and do-it-yourself supplies in his store. He sold everything from farming equipment and tools, carpentry and plumbing supplies, electrical tools, small appliances, and sporting goods.
The hardware store would still remain open through the late 1990's and early 2000's, but eventually, Zepeda's declining health would prevent him from working. His daughter, Mary Zepeda, would move down from Dallas to help run the hardware store during its final months of operation.
I had the good fortune of wandering in to the hardware store and meeting Mary. I would spend plenty of time at the store, helping out with some of the military surplus items that were still peppered around the store shelves. By that time, other items were being sold in the store in addition to the usual hardware related items. One of the big draws was a large inventory of cake and pastry supplies. The hardware store also had a lunch counter where you could pop in and have a home-made sandwich or a cup of coffee. However, most of the time I spent at the hardware store meant I would be having lunch at Rutledge right next door.
Mary also knew I was fascinated with downtown and its history. She took me up to the second floor of the hardware store. She showed me a space where a local radio station's offices once were. I don't remember the call letters of the station, but I do remember they were still painted on one of the glass panels on one of the office doors. She also showed me an area where an upstairs pool hall had once been. Some of the wood beams still had soot stains from when a fire caused damage to the second floor.
Eventually the decision to close the hardware store would be made. If memory serves me correct, the Zepeda family would close the hardware store and one of the store's long time employees would keep the store open as Vasquez Cake Supply for a while longer. The store would eventually close within a year.
It was indeed a sad day when Zepeda Hardware closed. The store had a very friendly atmosphere. While I was never an official employee of the store, I was always treated extremely well by Mary and all of the Zepeda Hardware employees. The store had a loyal customer base that would travel there even when the larger, cheaper hardware chain stores opened in town. I remember the sights and the smells of the store very well. I remember newspaper articles chronicling Mr. Zepeda's service in World War II adorning the walls of the store.
In 2016, the First Lady of Texas, Cecilia Abbott, visited Brownsville as part of her "Texas Main Street Program 2016 First Lady's Tour." During a presentation, the program was to unveil an artist's rendering of what Downtown Brownsville could look like should some of the property owners decide to renovate and refurbish some of their storefronts. The rendering showed Zepeda Hardware, Rutledge Hamburgers, and the Alamo Clothing Company. Unfortunately, that part of downtown has yet to see any revitalization efforts come to fruition.
In any event, I am glad I was able to experience the small-town personal attention that a business like Zepeda Hardware was able to offer Brownsville for nearly 40 years. Like Whitman's, Kress, and the Majestic Theater, Zepeda Hardware will always fondly exist in the memories of those who shopped there.
It's happened to all of us. You're walking to the kitchen one fine morning. You pull on the handle to open one of your cabinets, but instead of reaching in to pull out a cereal bowl, you notice the handle to the cabinet has broken off and you're now holding it in your hand. You say a few curse words as you get dressed and drive down to the Home Depot. You walk in to the massive store and quickly come to a startling realization — for such a big building there sure aren't nearly enough employees to help you find what you're looking for. You eventually find your way to the aisle where the cabinet handles are, pick out the handle that matches the one in your pocket, then march to the self-checkout stand where you have to act like employee and customer as you ring yourself up. You walk out and head back home to replace the handle, realizing you don't even have the right screws to fasten the damn thing to the cabinet...
Maybe this time you'll try Lowe's instead.
This isn't how a trip to the local hardware store used to be. Brownsville once had several smaller hardware stores. Handy Dan was off the expressway and would later be a Bud's Wholesale Outlet and a Convergys call center before turning into a vocational school. Builder's Square would occupy the land where a drive-in movie theater was on Boca Chica Boulevard before becoming a Dollar Tree and a U-Haul storage place. Downtown also had a couple of hardware stores. One of them was on East Jefferson and 14th Street. Brownsville Hardware was located right next to the Lopez Supermarket and the VTC Bus Terminal (that just happened to have an excellent lunch counter in back — Johnny's). The entire block would eventually be razed and replaced by the new Metro Bus Terminal. Another was located at 1128 East Washington Street.
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| A Zepeda Hardware ad in a 1965 edition of The Brownsville Herald |
Zepeda Hardware was opened in Downtown Brownsville in 1965. Enrique Zepeda had run a hardware store in San Benito for two decades before deciding to open a second location in Brownsville. Zepeda was a World War II veteran, serving in the Army Air Corps where he flew over 60 combat missions as an aerial gunner on board a B-26 bomber. Among his many decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross and 14 Air Medals. Zepeda also served as a San Benito city commissioner for 8 years.
Zepeda sold all kinds of hardware and do-it-yourself supplies in his store. He sold everything from farming equipment and tools, carpentry and plumbing supplies, electrical tools, small appliances, and sporting goods.
The hardware store would still remain open through the late 1990's and early 2000's, but eventually, Zepeda's declining health would prevent him from working. His daughter, Mary Zepeda, would move down from Dallas to help run the hardware store during its final months of operation.
 |
| Mary Zepeda at Zepeda Hardware |
I had the good fortune of wandering in to the hardware store and meeting Mary. I would spend plenty of time at the store, helping out with some of the military surplus items that were still peppered around the store shelves. By that time, other items were being sold in the store in addition to the usual hardware related items. One of the big draws was a large inventory of cake and pastry supplies. The hardware store also had a lunch counter where you could pop in and have a home-made sandwich or a cup of coffee. However, most of the time I spent at the hardware store meant I would be having lunch at Rutledge right next door.
Mary also knew I was fascinated with downtown and its history. She took me up to the second floor of the hardware store. She showed me a space where a local radio station's offices once were. I don't remember the call letters of the station, but I do remember they were still painted on one of the glass panels on one of the office doors. She also showed me an area where an upstairs pool hall had once been. Some of the wood beams still had soot stains from when a fire caused damage to the second floor.
Eventually the decision to close the hardware store would be made. If memory serves me correct, the Zepeda family would close the hardware store and one of the store's long time employees would keep the store open as Vasquez Cake Supply for a while longer. The store would eventually close within a year.
It was indeed a sad day when Zepeda Hardware closed. The store had a very friendly atmosphere. While I was never an official employee of the store, I was always treated extremely well by Mary and all of the Zepeda Hardware employees. The store had a loyal customer base that would travel there even when the larger, cheaper hardware chain stores opened in town. I remember the sights and the smells of the store very well. I remember newspaper articles chronicling Mr. Zepeda's service in World War II adorning the walls of the store.
In 2016, the First Lady of Texas, Cecilia Abbott, visited Brownsville as part of her "Texas Main Street Program 2016 First Lady's Tour." During a presentation, the program was to unveil an artist's rendering of what Downtown Brownsville could look like should some of the property owners decide to renovate and refurbish some of their storefronts. The rendering showed Zepeda Hardware, Rutledge Hamburgers, and the Alamo Clothing Company. Unfortunately, that part of downtown has yet to see any revitalization efforts come to fruition.
In any event, I am glad I was able to experience the small-town personal attention that a business like Zepeda Hardware was able to offer Brownsville for nearly 40 years. Like Whitman's, Kress, and the Majestic Theater, Zepeda Hardware will always fondly exist in the memories of those who shopped there.
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