Ayers Variety and Hardware in Arlington Shuts Down After 78 Years

July 6, 2026 - 19:36

A longtime fixture of Arlington's Westover Village neighborhood, Ayers Variety and Hardware, is closing permanently at the end of this month. The store had been in business for 78 years.

The decision to close comes as a mix of changing retail habits, rising costs, and the owner's retirement plans finally caught up with the family-run shop. For generations, Ayers served as a go-to spot for everything from paint and plumbing supplies to greeting cards and hardware odds and ends. Locals often described it as the kind of place where you could find a specific screw or a part for an old faucet that big-box stores no longer carried.

The owner said the community's support over the decades was overwhelming, but the reality of running a small independent store in a changing economy made it impossible to continue. The store's closing marks the end of an era for Westover Village, which has seen a wave of new development and chain retailers in recent years. Many longtime residents expressed sadness, noting that Ayers was one of the last old-school hardware stores in the area. A liquidation sale is expected to run until the final day of business.