A family-owned hardware store that has been serving the Brookfield community for four decades is closing its doors at the end of January.
Brookfield True Value, 9150 Broadway Ave., is owned by Kathy Ogar, who inherited the business from her father, Stanley J. Ogar.
He bought the store in 1976 and moved his family to Brookfield in 1979.
Mr. Ogar, who died in 2013 at the age of 95, had been in the hardware business since 1958, when he opened his first store in Chicago.
He later owned another store in the city before purchasing the True Value franchise in Brookfield.
Kathy Ogar said she decided to retire and close the store due to her poor health.
She said she is grateful for the support and loyalty of her customers and employees over the years but cannot continue for reasons of health.
“I appreciate everyone that supported us,” Ogar said.
Ogar is known in the community as a friendly and helpful person who can offer advice and repairs at a reasonable price.
She also taught many young men and women valuable skills in retail, hardware, and cashiering.
Alice Harris, a True Value employee and a friend, started working at the store in 2015 and describes Ogar as a go-to person for herself and for the whole village.
She said the store is the place where her son grew up. She started bringing him to the store when he was a week old and got support from Kathy Ogar.
“I basically had my son here. She let me work here while nursing my baby and he’s grown up here,” Harris said.
Suzanne Cook, another worker and a friend, could not hold her tears while talking about Kathy Ogar.
“She’s an extremely nice lady, very generous, polite, kind, helpful,” Cook said. “I’m gonna miss her greatly.”
The closure of True Value will have an impact on the community as it is the only independently owned hardware store in Brookfield. Residents will now have to go out of the community or to chain stores for their hardware needs.
Michael Garvey, village president, said Ogar has been a pillar of not only the Brookfield business community, but of the entire Brookfield community.
“Always offering a helping hand with a friendly smile and a warm greeting of how ‘can I help you?’” Garvey said.
Garvey and the village board honored Ogar with an embossed proclamation that thanked her for her dedication, professionalism and kindness during the Dec. 11 board meeting. The proclamation also recognized her humanitarian contributions to Brookfield, such as participating and purchasing many gifts through the Toys for Tots program over the years.
The store is having an everything-must-go discount sale until it closes for good.
