Cordell’s local Ace Hardware store has a new store manager. Cordell resident Guy Sperle took over the position on October 11th. Always friendly and helpful, Guy has worked for Ace Hardware since 2006. He originally began working at the old Ace Hardware on Clay Street here in town and was the Assistant Manager for 2 years before transferring to Elk City’s Ace Hardware in 2009 as their Assistant Manager.
Guy, born and raised in Bessie, went to school in Cordell, graduating in 2000. He married his high school sweetheart, Tamara (Tammy) Cope and moved to Cordell in 2001. They have three children, Anthony, Vincent, and Jocelyn.
When I asked Guy how he was adapting to the slower pace of Cordell compared to Elk City, he replied “It slowed me down a little bit. It is not bad because I was used to it before whenever I was working over here. I kind of knew what to expect. I knew it was going to be a little bit slower not having the lumberyard and just being hardware, but it’s actually been fairly steady. I am happy to be back working in Cordell and getting to see a lot of faces that I have missed over the years. Even some of my Elk City customers found out I am over here now and they have actually been coming here to Cordell more frequently just to see me, that is pretty cool.”
Guy said he is currently going with the flow, checking out everything in the store to see if there are any changes needed and preparing for inventory at the end of this month. He told me that he was also preparing for Ace’s upcoming event, “Thanks Grilling” that will be held at the store on November 20th from 11-2. Guy will be cooking up all types of samples that day for customers as they demonstrate Traeger Grills. There will also be activities for both kids and adults at the store during the event and some special web content available online at acehardware.com that day.
Guy expects an uptick in sales for the holidays as he explained that Ace Hardware generally moves a lot of their Yeti cooler line and grills over the holidays, and tools are always a great gift for everyone.
When asked if there were any items out of stock and hard to replenish due to the nationwide shortages, Guy replied “There have been a few shortages, a few items here and there that are hard to get. The order dates and availability of some of our items are still way out. The main thing we are currently having issues getting in stock are electrical boxes, the remodel boxes.” When I asked him about the ridiculous price inflation we experienced early in the year, he said that the costs of lumber had finally begun to come down before he left Elk City.
In closing, Guy said “I am very happy to be back in Cordell, being around and getting to see my old customers.”