T-R FILE PHOTO The independently-owned Thompson True Value store at 106 S. Center St. in Marshalltown, pictured, will remain open for business with operations unchanged after the Chicago-based hardware wholesaler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this week.

Thompson True Value — a full-service hardware business in Marshalltown which can trace its origins to 1860 — remains open for business.

“We will continue to offer our extensive product selection, machinery repair, Weber grills, custom paint-tinting and more, all with personal customer service,” Owner-operator Dave Thompson said on Thursday.

Earlier this week, True Value, the longtime Chicago-based hardware retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and entered into an agreement to sell its assets to rival hardware business Do It Best Corp., according to WGN-TV of Chicago.

“Our customers will not see any changes in the way we have done business for 39 years,” said Thompson. “We have been independently-owned and operated since we became part of True Value. For example, we had a delivery Wednesday from True Value after the bankruptcy was announced. The sale of corporate assets to Do It Best will benefit our customers, as I expect we will have more products to offer.”

True Value said in a press release that its 4,500 locations are all independently owned and operated except for one corporate store in Palatine, Ill. None of those 4,500 are part of the bankruptcy proceedings, and they will remain open for business.

Thompson, his wife Kathy and their son Paul, the co-owners of the store, moved across the street to their current 14,000 square foot location at 106 S. Center St. in 2019.

Their significant investment to build a new store downtown was brought about by a roof truss-breaking snowstorm and tornado at their previous location in 2018.

Despite the damage, the store remained open with customers placing their orders at the front counter or driving up to the front door while staff found the products and returned to the counter or vehicle.

The old building, since razed, was a local retail fixture since the 1950s, when initially constructed as Smity’s Grocery store. It was converted into a hardware store, which the Thompson’s purchased in 1985.

Thompson said at the new store’s grand opening in July 2019 that a bit of the old store is in the new. To enter the current location, one must walk over several old red bricks.

“Those are bricks saved from the old store,” Thompson said then.

The 52-year veteran of the hardware business got his start in 1972 at his family’s True Value store in Eau Claire, Wisc.

Thompson said he, Kathy and Paul are proud to carry-on a downtown hardware store tradition that was started in 1860 as Abbott Hardware at 1 W. Main St. It was owned by Albert Cutler Abbott.

The tradition has been upheld by other owners since – making it the oldest continually operating retail businesses in Marshalltown, according to the late local resident and historian Jay Carollo.

Do It Best, based in Fort Wayne, Ind., purchased the 75-year-old True Value for $153 million, according to court documents.

A spokesperson for True Value said the target date for completing the sale is the end of 2024. True Value has central Iowa locations in Grimes, Huxley, Indianola, Madrid and West Des Moines, according to the Des Moines Register.

Thompson True Value’s business hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, contact 641-753-6647, or visit https://stores.truevalue.com-marshalltown.