West Salem ACE Hardware celebrates 30 years this July

By Casey Chaffin, The West Side Newspaper 

The West Salem ACE Hardware is celebrating its 30th anniversary this July, with a BBQ and pop-up vendors on July 18 and July 19 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

“We’re really excited about 30 years in business, and we’re excited to keep going,” Jeremy Mackay, who co-owns the store with his wife, Heidi Mackay, said. 

Jeremy is proud of the store’s connection to West Salem, and to be the third generation of family members to run it. The store began as a different brand of hardware store: True Value, which was sold to Heidi’s grandparents, Chuck and Janet Frank, in 1995. They had already been in the hardware store business, with a Keizer location that Heidi worked at growing up. 

“She’s been involved in the business throughout her entire life,” Jeremy said. After they met and started their family in the 1990s, their kids were involved, too. “She raised our son in a shopping cart at the Keizer store.” 

After Chuck and Janet retired, the business passed on to their son Greg in 2007, who continued the business with his wife, Jan. Their daughter, Heidi, and Jeremy took ownership in 2022. Jan continues to be involved as a consultant. 

A throughline for the family has always been to stay connected to the community. In addition to being business owners, Janet worked at Salem Hospital for many years, and Chuck and Greg were both volunteer firefighters. 

“They had a big purpose in helping the community,” Jeremy said. 

Now, Heidi and Jeremy are also focused on giving back. “Heidi’s involved behind the scenes in a lot of places,” Jeremy said, including a long list of nonprofits and other organizations they’ve served as board members or supported financially. Among others, they’ve supported Salem Dream Center, West Salem Little League, and the local public schools. 

Jeremy now also volunteers his time visiting the West Salem High business classes, sharing  with students the perspective of being a small business owner. 

“I’m really big on the idea of never stopping learning,” Jeremy said. He encourages his kids to embrace that mindset as well. A self-described “jack of all trades,” he’s involved in every aspect of the business. 

Now, Heidi and Jeremy have two kids, a 16 year old son and a 13 year old daughter. Jeremy said he’s hopeful the business will be able to stay in the family. His son now works at the hardware store on the weekends. 

“It’s exciting to see the fourth generation in the store,” he said.  

West Salem ACE Hardware is located at 820 Wallace Rd NW in Salem. Contact them at (503) 363-3669, @WestSalemACE on Instagram, or order online from the store at acehardware.com.