Karp's Hardware

In 1926, Karp's Hardware was founded by Harry Karp. The store moved twice through the difficult years of the thirties, finding success at 328 Atlantic Street. Harry Karp and his brother Isadore ran the store through the forties. In 1947, Rudy Herz joined the Company, and in 1950, Harry's son-in-law, Hy Fogel, came on board. Harry Karp retired in 1... 965. Hy Fogel took over as president of the company with Rudy and Isadore as partners. In 1967, Karp's was a small but aggressive, upcoming company. Hy saw that he needed some assistance breaking into the Stamford market. Therefore, he joined American Hardware Company - later called ServiStar. He chose this co-op over some others because he saw in them the same dedication to hard, honest work that would lead to future successes for the store. Furthermore, he realized that in the changing world of retail, a small store needed the help of a larger buying base. Karp's continued to grow through the sixties and seventies due to its strong desire and effort to meet the needs and requests of its customers. In response to urban renewal and the changing of downtown Stamford, Karp's opened a second store at 346 Hope Street. Soon after this, the Atlantic Street store was closed, and the business was consolidated at Hope Street. In 1974, Isadore Karp retired. In 1976, Marc Fogel entered the business and in 1977, David Fogel came on board. Through the late seventies and early eighties, Karp's continued to grow until it outgrew its store. In 1982, Rudy Herz retired but continued on as a part-time consultant. Spring of 1987 saw the store on the move again. Faced with a lack of room to grow at its current location, Karp's moved to 633 Hope Street. The change in the store was very exciting. We had one of the largest, most modern and successful hardware stores in Connecticut - a true showplace. In 1999, ServiStar merged with True Value, to form the largest hardware buying co-operative in the world. In late January of 2002 we moved to our present location in the Glenbrook Shopping ...Read More