ZION – Nittany Valley True Value Hardware will celebrate its grand reopening on Saturday after six weeks of renovation and the addition of new products, including an all-wheel-drive electric bike designed especially for hunters.
“We’ve had people who haven’t been here for 20 years saying, ‘We’ll come back again,’” said manager Paul Andrus.
“For the grand reopening, we’ll have many giveaways of power tools, ice coolers and random hardware and tools,” he said. “You have to be present to win. They’ll be sporadic throughout the day. The first giveaway will be at about 9:30 to 10 a.m. There will be some free swag — metal camping cups and hats.”
The store, located at 1169 Nittany Valley Drive between Zion and Mingoville, will host Jerry Valeri of 3WZ Radio, broadcasting live from noon to 2 p.m. Free snacks and drinks will be provided. For those with a larger appetite, Snyder’s Food Concessions will be selling hot sausages, hot dogs, burgers and fries from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The store’s management team includes Andrus, owner Nick Pelick-Rudloff and his father, Rudy Rudloff, who is the assistant manager. Rudloff’s wife, Daria, plans the farm-related inventory, and his dog, Harrison, provides the team with canine companionship. Pelick-Rudloff is the grandson of the prior owner.
A new addition is the coffee offered beside the front door. Pelick-Rudloff said, “It’s a hang-out spot for people to talk and drink coffee. People that have been around since my grandfather like to come in and keep up.
“We’re veteran, police and fire department friendly,” Pelick-Rudloff continued. “Anytime we can, we try to do a 10% discount.”
“We now have a full line of wildlife food plot, specifically designed to attract deer, bear and turkey,” Andrus said. “The electric bikes are 100% new.”
Pelick-Rudloff said the store is the only official dealer in Pennsylvania for Timber Trails Electric Bikes, which are specifically designed for hunting.
The bikes have all-wheel drive and fat tires. He said some models don’t require a Class 3 license.
“They’re fantastic,” he said. “They’re made by a local company from Lewisburg.”
Andrus said Nittany Valley True Value Hardware is the biggest supplier of wine, beer and butchering do-it-yourself supplies in central Pennsylvania.
The butchering supplies include sauces, dehydrators, smokers, grills, accessories, charcoal, wood pellets and high-temperature cheese for sausages that won’t melt and flow out.
The store also sells bottles, juices, malts, hops and yeast for beer, wine, cider and whiskey.
“We are one of the only stores in the area that sells do-it-yourself maple syrup components,” Andrus said.
“We sell what people need to make old-fashioned brands — sarsaparilla, root beer, sodas. We have kombucha kits, and kits for beer and wine. People can give them as gifts,” Andrus continued. “Our old manager used to give wine-making classes. In the distant future, we hope to have wine- and beer-making classes, and in the near future, cooking classes.”
The kitchen classroom won’t be completed until the end of June. These rooms will offer themed cooking instruction and do-it-yourself classes like making pickles, sausage and jerky. Classes will be advertised on the business’s website.
Andrus said the store offered small-engine repair in the 1990s but stopped when the owners couldn’t find a mechanic. The team has decided to bring back small-engine repair and has hired a full-time mechanic.
“We repair dirt bikes, ATVs, chainsaws, snowblowers, mowers, pretty much any small engine as long as we can diagnose it,” Andrus said. “We sell parts for do-it-yourselfers for small-engine repair too.”
Nittany Valley True Value also offer other services, including sharpening lawnmower blades, cutting keys and renting yard rollers. It also serves as a drop-off and shipping vessel for UPS.
“In order to keep hunting and fishing licenses, we have to have payment by cash or check,” Pelick-Rudloff said. “We can do launch permits for boats — unmotorized crafts — but they get mailed to the owners.”
The store stocks supplies and equipment for kitchens and canning, electrical repairs, old-fashioned lighting, plumbing, hardware and a small supply of lumber. Customers can buy locally blended birdseed mix, corn for deer, MacNeal’s Maple Syrup from Rebersburg and Spring Creek honey.
“We have over 1,200 hardware nuts and bolts,” Andrus said.
The garden center was expanded during the renovation. It offers bagged mulch and topsoil, potato and onion sets, a selection of organic and conventional fertilizers, weed killers and sprays and grass seed.
He said the store supports other local businesses and the owners don’t want to duplicate what the others are doing.
“In a year, I’d say we sent 250 people elsewhere in the community,” Andrus said. “We pride ourselves on being straightforward. We’re willing to help anyone.”
Nittany Valley True Value Hardware is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The store is closed on Sundays. For more information, call (814) 383-2809. The new website is coming soon — NittanyValleyTrueHardware.com.
