SILVERTON, Ohio — It’s like a barbershop.
That’s what Chris Chrisman tells me. First, before I turn my camera on. Then, while I’m recording. And once again after we’re done.
But at some point, he changes the analogy. Because now he’s telling me about his regulars. It’s more like a bar, Chrisman says, where they teach people how to fix things — talk about sports and solve the world’s problems.
A few minutes later, it's turned into something else.
“I hear those guys out there,” Chrisman said. “They sound like a YouTube video.”
WATCH: Historic hardware shop's future unclear
Chrisman owns Silverton Hardware. It’s a business that means a lot of things to a lot of different people, because it’s been in this small Hamilton County village since 1915.
I’m here because Chrisman is trying to sell the property — with the business or without it.
“We hadn’t planned on being in the hardware business,” Chrisman said.
He bought it a few years ago because of development planned nearby. But those plans changed, and it's left the future of the hardware store in flux again.
“If you just look at Silverton as a snapshot, there is so much going on," said Josh Rothstein, the vice president of sales and leasing for Colliers. "I think in two or three years ... it is going to look drastically different than what it looks like today.”
But Rothstein, who listed the property for Chrisman, tells me he hopes there will always be a place for Silverton Hardware.
“The people really care,” Rothstein said. “It’s not just a job, it’s their life.”
Todd Murphy has worked there for more than a decade. Another employee has worked there for three. Murphy grabs his gloves and turns on the light.
“I wish there were more small businesses like ours," Murphy said. "But they can’t really survive as much with the big boys.”
He tells me he'll sometimes give customers advice and then watch them order a part from Amazon on their phone. On this morning, he's working on window screens, using a table saw to cut down frames. It's part of the repair aspect of the shop that keeps them in business.
“Hardware stores like this mean a lot to the community,” Murphy said. "And there’s not a lot of them left."
In another room, Rick Hillman puts it more bluntly. He tells me he’ll die here. He’s joking, but it’s one of those jokes he’s told so many times it might not actually be a joke anymore.
Hillman runs his luggage repair shop out of the hardware store. He says he gets customers from all over the country because not many people can do what he does anymore.
“If I pass away, it will be in here,” Hillman said. “And they’ll take me out in a suitcase.”
