Table of Contents
Westlake Ace Hardware has agreed to acquire four stores from Breed & Co. Ace Hardware, a family-owned retailer based in Austin, Tx. The acquisition will be completed on Sept. 30.
Westlake Ace will acquire all three Breed & Co. locations in Austin plus Spicewood Ace Hardware, Spicewood, Tx. The Breed & Co. stores will retain their branding, while the Spicewood store will be rebranded as Westlake Ace. All stores will keep current management and personnel.
“We are excited for our employees and customers that Westlake Ace is acquiring our stores. They are excellent retailers that understand what we have built here. But most importantly, their core values closely align with ours,” said Dave Barker, owner and CEO of Breed & Co. “I’m confident they will continue our long legacy of superior customer service and community engagement.”
“For more than 50 years, Breed & Co. has offered Austin homeowners quality hardware and fine specialty products in a convenient and welcoming shopping environment. Their business model is exemplary, particularly in the way they take care of their employees and customers,” said Joe Jeffries, president and CEO of Ace Retail Holdings, the parent company of Westlake Ace Hardware. “It will be an honor to continue their tradition of excellence and show our new friends, neighbors, and customers we live the Ace Helpful Promise every day.”
Breed & Co. was founded in 1970 by Truman Breed after he purchased a small hardware store near The University of Texas campus. He eventually added another location and began offering—in addition to traditional hardware products—a wide range of upscale houseware, fine tableware, and kitchenware.
Dave and Mahin Barker, owners of Spicewood Ace Hardware, bought the chain in 2015. They closely associated Breed & Co. with the Ace brand and added a third location in Belterra, Tx.
In 2022, the Barkers opened a traditional Ace Hardware store in North Austin. They will retain ownership of the North Austin location after the sale of their other locations.
For nearly 120 years, Westlake Ace Hardware has been the helpful neighborhood hardware store countless generations have counted on for power and hand tools, fasteners, paint, plumbing, lawn care, pet, electrical supplies, and BBQ grills and accessories. Westlake lives the Ace Helpful Promise every day by delivering reliable service, helpful advice, and products so its customers and neighbors get their projects done right every time.
Westlake Ace has been part of the Ace Hardware Cooperative since 1959. From its headquarters in the Kansas City area, the company currently owns and operates more than 165 stores in 13 states: California (Ace Hardware locations in the Bay Area, Central Valley, Northern California, and Southern California), Illinois (Buikema’s Ace Hardware), Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas (Westlake Ace Hardware), North Carolina (Westlake Ace Hardware and Outer Banks Ace Hardware), AND Washington (Westlake Ace Hardware and Dennis Company Ace).
Westlake Commercial, Westlake Ace’s dedicated business-to-business division, features a team of business development managers who regularly work with commercial customers — such as multi-family properties, businesses, schools, and municipalities — to deliver the supplies for maintenance and repair operations at The Speed of Need. The team has access to more than 800,000 products, including commercial lighting, appliances, and safety and cleaning supplies.
Westlake Ace is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ace Retail Holdings. A division of Ace Hardware Corporation, Ace Retail Holdings currently owns and operates more than 220 Ace hardware stores nationwide under the Buikema’s Ace, Dennis Company Ace, Great Lakes Ace, Westlake Ace, and Outer Banks Ace brands.
