Frattalone’s Ace Hardware of Summit Hill

People this is THE place to buy a Christmas tree in St Paul, they are surprisingly cheap and always look wonderful! Literally half of what you’ll pay anywhere else and they even carry it to your car! Grab a tree and hang out on grand for a while!

I live part time in this neighborhood in an old condo (2^nd home). Frattalone’s Ace Hardware on Summit Hill is 5+star. The staff are friendly — and helpful. I’ve been in MANY times for everything from paint to plumbing/​broken hinges to electrical switches. Most appreciated is their expertise. I’ve learned from them how to plumb a leaking toilet to rewiring a 3-​way switch. They have offered to lug heavy items to my car, taken calls over the phone for advice and made suggestions for paint spills. Ordinarily I would have asked my dad or older brother for this advice/​help, but they have passed away to the fix-​it-​up better place. Many thanks to the wonderful staff at Frattalones on Summit Hill. Your talent and location are tops!

Nice neighborhood hardware store on Grand Ave. with friendly staff. From hardware items to women’s scarves — they had it all.

They had what I needed when no other place (Lowes, Home Depot etc.) had what I needed. The staff was friendly and location was convenient.

I like hardware stores, I know that’s so stereotypical male, but I can’t help it. I’ll be honest, these guys have the largest advantage that they’re walking distance from my house, so I end up there way more often than I might otherwise.
The Good: They are so knowledgable it’s freaky. You ask them if some device exists, they say, no but if you got all of these components it would do the same thing. They always know where everything is, I start discribing something and they listen and say «OH, you mean the do-​hicky-​sprocket-​thingy» and take me straight to it. The amount of time I’ve saved by coming here and just asking what something is called is worth the cons in most cases.
The bad: as a small hardware store, they just can’t compete with their larger competitors in prices. Even their house brand is more expensive than name brand items elsewhere. One time I went there looking for a hack saw, when I saw how much their cheapest hack saw was, I went to target and got a stanley one for about $ 5 less than their store brand one. I hate to make it a game with numbers when dealing with small locally owned businesses, but unfortuneately I don’t make enough to be that not choosy in widely available goods. Not that I don’t ever buy stuff there, but I frequently find myself getting in the car to go elsewhere if I think the item I need will be too expensive there.
So: if you need something and have no idea what it is or what it’s called, go here and they will help you get exactly what you need. Otherwise, go somewhere less expensive.

Close, convenient and just a cute little neighborhood hardware store. I always pop down to this location when I need an extra set of keys made.
Staff is always friendly and helpful.
Only thing that is hit or miss is parking. However, for the most part I’ve always been pretty lucky and found a place.

Everything from pumpkins to pipe fittings, beef jerky to bbq grills, firewood to fuses. Staff are uniformly helpful and know where everything in the store is hiding. Take advantage of the free offstreet parking behind the store.
Tip: when you’re done at the hardware store, stop in at Ramaley Liquor next door for a sixer or a bottle of booze.
You’re welcome.

Compared to Seven Corners, this joint is like the cleaned-​up (almost sanitized) suburban version of an Ace. It’s like a Barnes & Noble to an old dusty-​musty used bookstore. Which is not a bad thing, because it’s a lot easier to find stuff, get in and get out. And it’s definitely not a big box store… dunno if they have their own parking lot, but we had no problem finding a spot out front, in our weekend warrior glory.

This is the Frattalone’s ACE at the Crocus Hill end of Grand Ave. It’s a great hardware store to have in the ‘hood, and they have an incredible amount of stuff crammed into that little space (in a good way).
Good local shop to grab things like flowers, pots and soil, or little pieces of hardware you need in the course of day to day life. The employees are knowledgeable and eager to help.
The downside is, as you might expect, they aren’t the cheapest option out there. If you can afford the slight price differential, or don’t have a car, this is the place for you. They’ll help you load your new plants onto your wagon so you can pull them home.