After 63 years, Ronnie's Hardware closing

For 63 years, Ronnie's Hardware has been the place to come for answers.

Give Ronnie Cione, the owner of the Franklin Square store, just about any home-improvement or appliance-repair problem, and he will offer blow-by-blow instructions on how to fix it, according to customers, who said every pipe fitting, every bolt and every faucet stem, no matter how antiquated or obscure, can be found or ordered here, .

But at the end of the month, his customers will have to find a way to get along without their personal home-maintenance adviser.

"The last two years we've been in the red and you can't keep putting money into it," said Cione, 72. "So it was a matter of age and the recession. I lost a lot of contractors and companies as customers."

After three years of trying to sell the business, Cione will retire at the end of the month and close Ronnie's Hardware. Like many other small hardware store owners, Cione said he has had to contend with a number of changes in the retail landscape, including competition from large national chains and the Internet, as well as time-strapped consumers who are more likely to buy from those retailers. The recession only accelerated the decline, he said.

"There were good times," he said. "These are hard times."

Cione's father, Ronald R. Cione, opened the store in 1948 on Franklin Avenue, a mile away from its current location. By age 10, Ronnie was working at the store when most of his friends were out playing ball in the streets, he said.

His father developed a loyal clientele among the new homeowners flocking to the area, offering them guidance with their projects, Cione said. He took over the business in 1979 after his father died.

"There was no [big] box stores," Cione said of that time. "They bought lawn mowers, Scotts fertilizer, everything from us."

A store like Cione's now faces competition not just from the larger home-improvement chains but also from mass retailers like Walmart, Target and large drugstore chains, said Barry Berman, a Hofstra University business professor.

"Everyone is taking a small part of your business away, to the point where there's nothing left," Berman said.

Businesses like Ronnie's often face challenges when it comes to selling or passing on a business, said Dan Tratensek, vice president of publishing for the North American Retail Hardware Association. The lending environment for small businesses continues to be tight, and finding a family member with an interest in running the business sometimes is not an option, he said.

Cione's loyal customers, however, said they are sad to see the store go.

"This is an old-fashioned hardware store, where the floor creaks when you walk in," said John Dedona, 64, of Franklin Square. He added, "He knows everything in this store and I don't have to find six people to get what I need."

The change will be bittersweet, Cione said. He said he's looking forward to retiring and spending time bike riding and wintering in Florida with his girlfriend, Cathy Leary."It's a big thing to liquidate," Cione said. "Every little piece here is me. There's a little bit of sadness, but I'm a cup-half-full guy, so I'm optimistic."