12 Days Of South Milwaukee Christmas: Local Chains (Especially Ace Hardware)

I try and shop local whenever I can for Christmas … and sometimes that means a local chain.

My favorite? Ace Hardware. It truly is the “helpful hardware place,” with customer service that you simply can’t get at the big-box home improvement stores, Walmart, etc. And it’s convenient.

That’s why I’m willing to pay more to shop there. It’s worth it.

I was recently part of a panel discussion at the Milwaukee Forum about chain vs. local shopping. My argument: It’s not an “either-or” argument. It’s “both-and.” There is room for both chain and local retailers.

Ace is the best of both worlds.

Here is the Ace website. And here is my 2012 12 Days post on this.