Walking into Karsten & Denson Hardware is like walking back in time to the age of the General Store: it’s a place where you can buy tulip bulbs, chicken feed, kerosene lamps, metal pipes, heirloom seeds, or bee-keeping equipment. There’s a key cutting station, a garden out front, and the owner, Johnny Davis, is there to answer any and all questions one might have, whether that be planting or plumbing, woodworking or wiring.
Davis has owned the store since February of 2000, but it’s been in Macon quite a bit longer than that- since 1917, to be exact. He says it was more of a farming supply store back then, and as farming changed throughout the years, the store transitioned into more of what it is today: a place with a bit of everything.
Davis jokes that the key to this wide variety is a “very complex and in-depth process,” But in reality, his process is quite simple.
“Basically it works like this: people walk in the door and they ask for something you don’t have, and you order it so the next week you have it,” he said. “You do that for 10 or 20 years and you accumulate stuff that most people are going to need at some point or another.”
Upon entering the store, that philosophy is on clear display.
There are over a dozen isles packed with everything from drywall repair kits and plumbing tools to antique Macon-themed postcards and genuine washboards (something Davis says you might not be able to find anywhere else in Macon). There’s everyday hardware needs, like nuts and bolts, a selection of yard tools, and paint. There’s also products for pest control from ant-killers to raccoon traps, and a plethora of gardening supplies, including potted plants, dozens of different kinds of seed, tools, and more.
Davis says this variety has its advantages.
“Another angle of this whole thing is carrying kind-of-hard-to-find things, things that are a little, you know, old fashioned, antique- but are still useful, like a kerosene lantern,” he said. “If the batteries are dead and the power’s out, then you’re back to what they did 200 years ago, and sometimes that’s what you have to do.”
He says some people come in looking for advice on deck-building, and some come in looking for a manual coffee grinder.
It isn’t just the products he offers that keep customers coming back, however- Davis attributes his loyal clientele to his hands-on approach to running his business:
“Locally owned businesses, especially when the owner works there, have an inherent advantage that is sometimes missed or glossed over… a lot of people just miss a personal touch,” he said.
Davis says taking the time to talk to his customers about their problems is one of the things that keeps people coming back. To him, it’s not just about being a business owner, but also a community member.
“People appreciate you just listening to them explain their situation, their problem- sometimes it’s not about hardware… it’s almost a ministry… [and] making connections with people you know you’re gonna see a week from now, two weeks from now, and years from now- that’s a thing that binds communities together, [that] binds families together, and most of the time it’s way more fun,” he says.
Davis says it makes him happy to have served the people of Macon for as long as he has, and although he is looking to sell the store out of a need to “simplify things,” he still plans on continuing to provide his knowledge and expertise to anyone who might need it:
“What would be my preference, by far, would be to find somebody to run the next leg of the relay- and I’d like to still be here… that’s sort of the goal with this- it’s not to retire,” he said “I don’t really know what I would do if I retired!”
