The depressed economy and competition from chain stores are pressuring Mohammad Hormozfar to close San Andres Hardware. Hormozfar, 61, has owned the business for six years, but the store has been serving the Westside community for 35 years. He has several people interested in buying his seven-year lease. In addition to knowledgeable and friendly clerks, San Andres Hardware is known for having supplies that can’t be found elsewhere, according to longtime customer Daniel Peters. “It would be a great loss to the community,” Peters said. “He has parts for these old houses on the Westside. Who’s going to cater to these needs? And at the big stores, you’re not going to get the help you need.” The soft-spoken Hormozfar had hoped to hand down the hardware store to his sons. “We cannot compete with … Home Depot,” he said, as outlets can buy items in bulk. Additionally, suppliers are now demanding payment within 10 days, instead of 60 days, because of the economic pinch. If the store closes this summer, as the owner anticipates, Capitol Hardware on Milpas Street will be the only independent hardware store on the South Coast. Austin’s True Value Hardware in Carpinteria closed recently, and old-timers still lament the loss of Learned Hardware on upper State Street as well as Mission Hardware — the heartbeat of Old Town Goleta for decades.

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