Depot «90% UPDATED»

Add more from the Reddit thread regarding crazy customer interactions.

They wanted to build a "depot"—a cavernous, warehouse-style, 60,000-square-foot behemoth that made other hardware stores look like toy shops. They wanted sawdust on the floor, skid marks, and prices so low they’d turn the industry upside down.

The first few days, customers walked in, looked at the massive, warehouse-style space, and walked right out, confused. They were used to small, dusty hardware corners. "We have to teach them, Artie," Bernie said.

But sitting in a California coffee shop, they hadn't seen an end; they saw a gap.

They changed tactics. They turned the front of the store into a classroom. They started hosting workshops, showing customers how to fix a leaking toilet or lay tile themselves. The message was simple: You can do it, and we can help .

Bernie felt the heat of the Georgia summer, but it was nothing compared to the fire in his gut. Just over a year ago, he and Artie had been unceremoniously fired from their jobs, told they were finished in the hardware business.

"It’s not just a store, it’s a mission, Artie," Bernie said, pacing in front of the cavernous, newly renovated "Treasure Island" building in Atlanta.