{"id":11208,"date":"2024-02-18T18:28:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-18T18:28:55","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"Aubuchon-hardware-store-closing-Concord-NH-54061360\/","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/?p=11208","title":{"rendered":"For three decades, a local Aubuchon Hardware store manager saw the company as an important part of his life\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Jeff
Jeff Ginn, manager of Aubuchon Hardware on South Main Street in Concord, leans on a stack of portable generators in the store on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014. Ginn had picked up the inventory of generators from the company’s Lee location on Friday but had not sold any once they were in stock. “It’s all in the timing,” he said Saturday. “As power comes back on, there’s less need.”<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>

Initially, while visiting the local Aubuchon Hardware store this week to say goodbye, Jeff Ginn declined an opportunity to address his emotions concerning the franchise that he dedicated 50 years to.<\/p>\n

A day later, though, Ginn, who grew up in Pembroke and lives in Concord, admitted that he had failed to think the matter through. He managed Concord\u2019s Aubuchon for 25 years, retiring in 2019.<\/p>\n

The store will close for good on March 18. At 40% off, merchandise is flying off the shelves as employees prepare to turn out the lights on a familiar Concord landmark. Linus, a brown and black tabby who lived at the store for eight years, left Thursday, adopted by an employee.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite co-worker,\u201d said Mikaila Sanville of Laconia, who\u2019s worked at the Concord branch for a year. \u201cI\u2019m sad it\u2019s closing.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the kind of environment in which Ginn worked. He realized that his career as a manager was rewarding \u2013 complete with camaraderie, teamwork, high morale and mutual respect \u2013 because the people who worked under him cared, feeding off the passion that Ginn brought to the table.<\/p>\n

Ginn spoke at length about the late Dan Cochrane of Penacook, describing him as a big reason why Ginn agreed to speak about the past. Cochrane worked at Aubuchon for 25 years.<\/p>\n

The 28th of this month marks one year since Cochrane passed away from cancer. Ginn spent several years volunteering as a part-time caregiver for his friend. Cochrane was loyal\u00a0and carried a workload that was never too heavy.<\/p>\n

He eventually ran the paint department under Ginn, a key role due to Aubuchon\u2019s reputation for being a leader in quality and selection.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people have worked with me,\u201d Ginn said. \u201cKnowing their dedication, it\u2019s tough not to talk about them because a lot of people put some really hard hours in, and (Cochrane) was extremely dedicated.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it was everybody else who helped me. I had an incredible staff. That\u2019s why I changed my mind about speaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ginn graduated from Pembroke Academy in 1970. By then, he had already worked at the Allenstown Aubuchon for two years. He managed that store and the one in Milford before joining the Concord team in \u201894.<\/p>\n

He retired four years ago at age 69, saying his duties \u2013 including lifting boxes that sometimes weighed 100 pounds \u2013 had become too difficult.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was mentally tired,\u201d Ginn said. \u201cI was physically tired too. I couldn\u2019t go and it wasn\u2019t fair for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

He works part-time for a clothing store downtown. He received a phone call earlier this month saying that Aubuchon would close, with employees having the option to transfer to the Alton branch. He was told the news before current staff members knew.<\/p>\n

After all, Ginn worked for the business through four generations of ownership.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have friends in the corporation,\u201d Ginn said. \u201cNot many people can say they worked for a family business for this long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ginn saw Cochrane as family. He drove with him to doctor\u2019s visits, helping him through chemotherapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was very difficult, yes,\u201d Ginn said, \u201cbecause I was at his home over the last days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Concord\u2019s branch will close on March 18, leaving Concord-area Aubuchon stores in Allenstown, Warner and Hillsboro. Ginn didn\u2019t mince words when addressing the reason for the impending closure of the Concord store.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s financial and they began to slide downwards,\u201d Ginn said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ginn visits Aubuchon now and then, mindful not to frequent too often or stay too long. His era has passed and he knows it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll occasionally stop in, say hello, grab something,\u201d Ginn said. \u201cBut you try not to go too often. It wasn\u2019t my store anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even so, Aubuchon\u2019s assistant manager, Peter Taber, pointed out the former floor boss, suggesting he would be a good source for a story.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a true landmark,\u201d Taber said\u00a0before Ginn changed his mind and agreed to talk. \u201cAnd he\u2019ll know a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

He did. He worked at a store for three decades, enough time in a city that Ginn said opened its arms to create more than a place to buy plumbing equipment, snow shovels and paint.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of hard work by people,\u201d Ginn said. \u201cAgain, working with the community of Concord to find a spot with a piece of that community pie. You\u2019ve got to be passionate, and that\u2019s really what it\u00a0 was all about.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Initially, while visiting the local Aubuchon Hardware store this week to say goodbye, Jeff Ginn declined an opportunity to address his emotions concerning the franchise that he dedicated 50 years to.A day later, though, Ginn, who grew up in Pembroke…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_newspack_byline_active":true,"_newspack_byline":"by [Author id=5]Ray Duckler[\/Author] Monitor columnist","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,514],"tags":[94,24,505],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[513],"class_list":["post-11208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-home-centerpiece-cm","tag-concord-nh","tag-facebook","tag-paywall","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/42957474-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11208"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11210,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11208\/revisions\/11210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11208"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fnewspack_spnsrs_tax&post=11208"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=11208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}