Brown's Hardware Still the Place for Falls Church Winter Needs

Long before mega-hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowes’, Brown’s Hardware is where Falls Church went for snow shovels and rock salt.

Some people still avoid those long lines and parking lot traffic jams for the small corner property in the City of Falls Church. The store has been in the Brown family since 1883 and current owner, Hugh Brown, has been at the helm since 1959.

He said it’s hard to know how many of his customers prefer his mom and pop shop over the well lit, high ceiling stores, but he’s glad to serve them anyway.

“It was a light winter last year but we’re ready for this one,” Brown said Thursday.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a 70 percent chance of more snow for Falls Church Friday starting after 2 p.m. The weather service says Falls Church could see an inch of snow Friday. The first snowfall of 2013 hit the area in the wee hours of Thursday and slowed the morning commute just a bit.

Brown’s is ready for Friday’s expected rush of people looking for snow shovels and rock salt.

For the last 14 years, Dave Taylor has worked at Brown’s and has seen the winter rush of customers come and go. With stock left over from last year’s seemingly light winter, Taylor said they ordered a few more shovels and bags of rock salt for this year.

Taylor admitted they still use the framer’s almanac in the hardware store and it called for snow in 2013.

“The panic will come in Friday and we’re ready to roll,” Taylor said. “We’ve had salt and shovels ready since October.”

Still haven’t "liked" Falls Church Patch on Facebook or signed up for our free newsletter? Check out both and stay connected to what’s going on in Falls Church. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, too.