@bedwardstiek I live two blocks from Ellis Hardware and was wondering what was going on, there. This is terrible news. The only other good* hardware store I'm aware of within reach is Pasttime Hardware, up in El Cerrito. That ain't walking distance, but OSH is kind of mediocre, and I cannot bring myself to shop at the monster stores—aside from Home Depot's founder being a still-active Trump supporter, their underpaid clerks have little experience and they almost never have what I need.

Ellis was the kind of place where I could walk in, feel genuinely welcome, speak with a clerk who really knew their stuff, and not once be told, "sorry, we don't have that in stock." Yet another treasure we're losing to greed and the unaffordability of the Bay Area.

:::: sigh ::::

*"Good," meaning they are well stocked and treat their employees with respect—they seem happy and tend to stick around.