Van’s Hardware

Very helpful! I came in for a heavy duty chain and the guy at the front immediately helped me cut it to size. They have lots of random tools and things you need for your home without spending outrageous prices.

Vans is your classic local hardware store. Although I’ve lived in the neighborhood for years, I only recently discovered Vans.
John, the owner, is super helpful & recently talked me through a project that I almost started that could have turned into a disaster. Thanks to him I didn’t do it & saved myself from an expensive mess. He is very knowledgable & takes the time to talk to his customers.
Vans also makes keys. No need to make a trip to one of the chain stores anymore!
Check out the cool lighting John makes. It’s displayed on the front window. I’m looking forward to buying a piece for our home.
We all need to do a better job of supporting our local small businesses!

I’ve been going to Vans for years – for new keys, the odd battery, and more substantial stuff. I have always had helpful friendly service. They are a small store, so although they have a surprising amount in stock, they don’t have everything. When that is the case, they are happy to recommend other places to go. I’m glad to support a local business and follow up on suggestions further away when necessary.

Hey Unilocal HQ, let’s get this man a «People Love Us ON Unilocal» sticker for his window!
Back from 2001 – 2005 I owned a 4 plex on the corner of Newport & Broadway, yeoup smack dab in middle of everything I needed from dry cleaners, (at the time Lasher’s-now The Attic), WE Olive, The Library Coffee House, EJ Malloy’s and I could increase the list ad infinitum.
Yet there was on business other than Launder Pet (where I took my Pooch Sigmund to be groomed monthly-​barking in Doggy Heaven I know Boo), that stood out among the rest, and that small iconic business was & Is Van’s Hardware.
If I needed keys made, parts to fix this & that, address numbers for the units, light switches &dimmers etc., I could always count on Van’s Hardware to come through & have me saying «Home Depot Who?!»
That is so because at Van’s I don’t have to walk around looking for help amongst employees that appeared to have the affect & could have been be extras for the series The Walking Dead, only interested in one thing-​lacking another, and that was excellent customer service above & beyond my expectations, based upon my primarily relevant to a customer experience.
Van is the nicest guy, and I’ll tell you why:
On my first visit his store was busy, in fact, most of the time it is busy with regular customer like myself that will go no where else for their [Hardware] needs.
I was acknowledged immediately, told I’d be helped in a minute or so, to please look around and see if there is anything I might need in my wait time; all of this always with a smile & a sir.
Plain & simple, just last week I lost my spare keys coming home from my walk, took them in, had all 3 made, and for a little over $ 3 & change I was home free & not locked out.
However, my security gate key didn’t work, it had been made from to small of a key casting.
So, I went back the next day, showed it to Van, and he so apologetically said «Oh sir, I’m so sorry, I made a mistake, I’ll take care of that straight away» and with a smile too.
Also, «Aren’t you the guy that had that place here on the corner a while back?»
That was the same question last year when I had not seen him in some time, he remembers everyone.
If he doesn’t have what you are looking for, he will get it, ans he will tell you when he will have it, how much it will cost, and never debates you when you make a return or request that he do something different.
I could pontificate even more, but you get the jist, small business owners are the life blood of a community, and when excellent customer service is in the mix, you have a winner.
Plain & simple if you are in Long Beach, need a great hardware store with excellent customer service, stop into Van’s Hardware.
Oh, by the way, if the man wants to be closed on Sunday, then has the right to do so, it is a day of rest, besides I am prepared on Saturday to work on Sunday if need be, so you can do kiss my bum, but:

Love this place now that Robbie is working there. He is stocking more items that I use and need for my apartment building. Robbie has mastered all my locks for 23 units in San Pedro and 10 units in long beach. I can call him when someone moves and ask to make a new set of masters and pick them up them up the next day. Very knowledgeable about plumbing. My handyman said he his helped him alot.

This place is awesome. Very friendly, personalized service in a small, mom and pop type store. Every time I’ve gone in there, they’ve been able to give me exactly what I need, and then some. So much better than the alienating big box store experience. I recommend this place highly.

I was visiting from Crested Butte, Co, and needed (3) completely different types of keys for a total of seven keys. The owner made the keys in a jiffy, and I went back to test them and all worked perfect.!! I highly recommend Vans Hardware.

3 strikes. I am a local business freak. If its local, ill patronize it. But the customer service has been a joke everytime I stop in. First time– he’s on the phone fighting with someone while I am getting keys copied and he copied the wrong ones, second time he was just being a grumpy asshole, third time I stood at the counter for 5 minutes with nothing.

We have this key that doesn’t like to be duplicated.
(it’s not one of those fancy no-​duplicate keys, it’s just an ass)
It was a jerk to the point of rejecting FOUR different stores attempts at recreation.
Went to Van’s. In and out within 5 minutes, the guy was nice and the key worked like a charm.
Thanks Van’s!

It’s great to support local business. The reality is, most of us don’t need to go to one of the humongous stores for a lot of our needs. I pop into here every now and then when I need something. The owner is always super knowledgeable and useful and always points me in the right direction. He has never failed me once and it’s great to know such a trustworthy business is just around the corner from me.

Helpful, kind, and trustworthy referrals — I am so grateful for this place. Thank you.

I highly recommend this great, little hardware store. Don is extremely helpful and they have most everything you could ever need for that honey do list. It is always nice to walk into a store, to be greeted and then be helped. The advice given today was beyond expert and it also saved me money.

This place is top notch. I find myself in Van’s more often than I really care to admit, asking for the oddest parts. No matter how odd the request, I almost always find a fix.
Today I went in with a simple need, A bolt to secure my LCD TV to a stand. I reviewed the TV owners manual and it mentioned something about a ¼ inch bolt. So I walked over to Van’s purchased the bolt, a couple of washers and a nut for a whopping $ 1.49.
Went home and realized that the bolt was too large. That is the last time I read a manual. I decide to walk back to Van’s with the goal of finding the perfect bolt for the job.
After about 5 minutes of trying to make heads or tails of the numerous selection of bolts, I consulted the owner. The owner told me with quite a bit of certainty «that most TV don’t use standard size bolt. What I needed was a M6 bolt». Of course, being at typical man, I simple nodded while thinking to myself «WTF is a M6». He swapped out the «bad» bolt for the perfect M6 bolt and home I went.
My TV is now secured to the stand. All thanks to Van’s and a M6 bolt.
Thanks Van’s!

Great place when you need that little piece of hardrware or screw.
The owners a great guy too!

I needed a spring for my garage door quick. I have been trying to support local business in the community and wanted to avoid the usual Home Despot. I remembered the cute little hardware store on Broadway and gave them a call. Lucky me, they had the spring! The gentleman at the counter was very nice and helpful (I think he was the owner?). While he was ringing me up, a handyman came in with some items to replace. The three of us started chatting and laughing. I asked a few questions about keys and left.
The experience sounds quick and non eventful, pretty much it was. But, what makes Van’s stand out over HD or any other large corporate equivalent is the personal experience. I’ve been to HD several times and pretty much it’s the same thing. Walk in totally lost. Spend ten to fifteen minutes trying to find what I’m looking for. Another ten to fifteen minutes trying to find an orange apron to help me make sure I have selected the correct item. Self checkout then search for my car in the huge freakin’ lot. Boo. At Van’s I received personal service from someone who actually gives a damn. I felt like a valued customer. In fact, I left smiling! As for parking, I went during a weekday and parked directly in front of the store.
Van’s may not have every single thing I may be looking for in the future, but I know this, I will always go there FIRST. Give local businesses a chance before defaulting to cold corporate chains!

I fell in love with this hardware store the first time I drove by. It’s curb appeal should be enough to make you want to give them your business. I use to live around the corner from this treasure and always tried to give them my business before heading off to the big box stores. His inventory is limited and you won’t always have multiple options, but for screws, nails, nuts, bolts, cutting keys or a drier vent hose, this place can be your savior.
Perhaps, I like it so much because it feels like you are walking into a time warp? The store is simple and their service is the focus. It is ashame many of these smaller hardware stores have closed down, it’s hard to compete with Home Depot, but I give them my business whenever I can.
Keep fighting the good fight! Visit Van’s, get a new key cut at your local hardwood store!
See you in the nuts and bolts isle…

I love that Van’s is walking distance from my house. I’ve been pleasantly surprised several times when I’ve gone in looking for some obscure item that I didn’t expect them to have, and the clerk knew exactly which aisle it was on. I’ve seen two different guys behind the counter, and they have both been very helpful.
Yes, Van’s is smaller than a big box place like Ace or Lowe’s, but it’s local and the people who work there are more knowledgeable than your average hardware employee. I’m happy to have Van’s in my neighborhood and only wish they could be open on Sundays. Go Van’s!

I am all about supporting the local mom and pop stores, especially when there is one down the street from my house. However, I have a few problems with Van’s.
I have tried to give this place every benefit of the doubt, but how can you attract a repeat customer when you are out of basic stuff most of the time. I’ve been told this on numerous occasions. And I’m not talking about exotic stuff that you find at Home Depot or Lowe’s, I’m talking about paint brushes, masking tape, sprinkler parts, etc.
Then there is the parking, which is non-​existent anywhere near the store. This is not their fault, but it is a hassle.
And finally, after finding parking and walking about a block I find a sign saying «CLOSED». Yes, Van’s is closed on Sundays. Sorry, but I do most of my work around my house on the weekends and periodically need last minute items from the hardware store.
Do not WASTE your time with this poor excuse of a hardware store. Go to Billings Hardware on 2^nd St.

.., your friendly neighborhood hardware store. This store is around the corner from my gf’s place & we frequent it whenever we need something.
We’ve came here for keys, WD-​40, Krazy Glue, screws, & screwdrivers. Random little things so far but it’s very convenient for us. Not sure how much the copis of keys costs, but it was pretty cheap, about $ 1.50 if I’m not mistaken. The owner is pretty laid back, cool, & informative.
You can tell this place has been around for a while. It’s not huge, so I can see how the selection may be limited. But it’ll always be the 1^st spot I go to before I hit the bigger chain hardware stores. Check it out.

2 things I look for in a hardware store: Good selection and friendly service. Easy Peasy right?
My man LOVES to fix stuff himself. And he makes things you and I would probably just go out and buy already made. So we spend a lot of time in hardware stores here there and everywhere. Van’s is right in my neighborhood, so even though they almost never had what we needed, it was worth it for us to look anyway just in case they did have ‘it’.
Recently my man was working on yet another project and needed some hooks and a few other things, so we headed on down to Vans where we were greeted by the same guy I always see in there. My boyfriend asked if he had a few things, and this is how it went:
BF: I need some hooks, drill lubricant, plastic sheeting, and a paint bucket. (these aren’t all the actually items (I forgot the rest) but you get the idea.
Employee: No, no, and nope. sorry. We don’t carry any of that.
BF: :giving a little chuckle: This is a hardware store, right?.. What DO you carry?
Employee: OK, thank you for your business. Have a nice day.
And with that, he turned his back, walked away, and left us just standing there. I really have no idea what this guys attitude was all about, maybe he gets that question a lot? As you might imagen, what we were left with was an overwhelming feeling of uncomfortable, so we decided to go elsewhere. In all fairness, we usually ended up going elsewhere anyway, because as I mentioned before Van’s almost never had what we needed, so it’s not been that much of an adjustment, just sayin.