Members of the Middlefield Chamber of Commerce listened intently Sept. 16 as Gary Sommers, CEO of HRM Enterprises Inc., talked about the challenges his family faced to bring Hartville Hardware to the village.
Members of the Middlefield Chamber of Commerce listened intently Sept. 16 as Gary Sommers, CEO of HRM Enterprises Inc., talked about the challenges his family faced to bring Hartville Hardware to the village.
Sommers recalled the company, built and nurtured by four generations of his family, bought Centerra LLC in Middlefield Village in 2020 and rebranded it as part of a plan to build a store similar to HRM’s Hartville Hardware store in Wayne County.
As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, their restaurant in Hartville, attached to the huge hardware store, was shut down.
“We wondered, ‘What in the world happens now?’” he told the audience of about 50 diners at the Swine Creek Park Lodge.
But the market shifted and the business prospered.
“Building materials really exploded and gave us confidence to expand here,” Sommers said. “We weren’t ready for expansion, but here we are.”
And here they plan to stay, he emphasized.
“Hartville Hardware is new (in Middlefield), but we are not short-term in nature. It’s a long-term investment,” Sommers said. “We’re excited to be here.”
The Middlefield store’s grand opening was Sept. 12.
HRM Enterprises, named for his grandfather, Howard R. Miller, exists to honor God and provide for others, Sommers said.
“Grandfather said always put God first and treat our customers and suppliers the way you’d want to be treated,” he said, adding those goals include hard work and giving more than is expected.
The five-point HRM retail strategy includes team members serving the people, dominating the market so that customers drive by big box stores to buy at Hartville, partnering with vendors who supply good brands, using ultimate signage and displays so the store feels different from competitors and offering goods at the best price.
“Nobody wants to pay more,” Sommers said.
Many construction crews from this area travel into Cleveland and its suburbs early every day so the Hartville lumber yard off Tare Creek Parkway opens at 6 a.m.
“They can drive up, pull through, load up and pay and not have to come into the store,” he said.
The store opens at 8 a.m., but the back door is open at 6 a.m., Sommers said, warning the store has limited staffing until 8 a.m.
He urged the crowd to visit with the management team and discuss their wants and needs.
“We can’t say ‘yes’ to everything, but we’re open to opportunities. Don’t be shy,” Sommers said.
America250 Plans
Geauga County Commissioner Jim Dvorak and Andrew Mizak, secretary of the Geauga County America250 committee, also spoke, urging the chamber members to get involved.
“We just want to make this great for Geauga County,” said Dvorak, who was chosen by participants to be president of the committee.
The committee is made up of a variety of people representing various groups and organizations that meet monthly to discuss activities across the county for 2026 relating to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
“It’s like being the conductor of an orchestra,” he said, adding it’s important that events are not duplicated over the year of celebration.
Company 119 put a link on the county commissioners’ website for America250, Dvorak said.
Mizak said one goal is to get the schools involved.
“There’s a lot of moving parts. The party will not stop on July 4,” he said, expecting activities to run through the end of 2026.
Mizak said he spoke to about 1,000 visitors at the America250 booth at the Great Geauga County Fair.
“People are excited about this,” he said, noting the committee plans to assign each month a theme, such as agriculture in October and maple syrup in March, with a county-wide picnic planned for July 4.
“This is a way to get people together,” he said.
Geauga Airport Growing
Pattie Fulop, outreach coordinator for the Geauga County Airport Authority, spoke about the origins of the airport thanks to Gov. James Rhodes in the 1960s.
The runway was dedicated in 1968 on 67 acres, funded by the Federal Aviation Authority, the county commissioners and the airport board.
Over the years, hangars, including one for the Medivac helicopter, have been added, she said.
The hangars are in demand and bring in revenue to run the airport, but more is needed, so another hangar is in the works, Fulop said.
A taxiway parallel to the runway is also underway, she said, adding it will give planes that have landed an alternate way to get back to the hangars and free up the runway for the next craft landing or takeoff.
The 2,000-foot taxiway will cost about $3.7 million to build, but will encourage corporate use of the airport, Fulop said.
“Many corporations won’t come to an airport without a taxiway,” she said.
The airport authority holds other fundraisers to keep the facility running.
“We have great pancake breakfasts – probably the best in Geauga County,” Fulop said. “Definitely the best in aviation.”
