{"id":4704,"date":"2026-07-15T20:36:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T20:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4704"},"modified":"2026-07-15T20:36:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T20:36:55","slug":"new-owner-keeps-longtime-mom-and-pop-hardware-open-locally-owned-and-downtown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4704","title":{"rendered":"New owner keeps longtime mom-and-pop hardware open, locally owned and downtown"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

For the last 15 years, anybody who walked into Handyman Hardware with a busted faucet or a broken switch found Lindsay Highsmith behind the counter, welcoming any frustrated, grease-covered amateur with a smile and helpful question:<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhatcha workin\u2019 on today?\u201d<\/p>\n

And then he walked you straight to the solution \u2014 a new toilet flapper, a corner bracket or a single washer \u2014 while you enjoyed a bag of popcorn.<\/p>\n

And now Highsmith, nicknamed \u201cC,\u201d has bought that staple of do-it-yourself jobs that opened in 1956, and he plans to keep it old-timey and family-owned in a downtown that increasingly throws obstacles at the mom-and-pop shops.<\/p>\n

The only change, other than adding sandwiches and cold drinks and phone chargers, will be the name:<\/p>\n

C\u2019s Keys and Things.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to try and keep the feel of the place,\u201d he said. \u201cI think people like a personal experience. If you come in Handyman, you immediately find friends. We\u2019re going to remember you.\u201d<\/p>\n

A mainstay on New Bern Avenue, though in several locations, Handyman Hardware dates back 70 years to when former City Councilman Ed Walters opened it with the sales savvy and people skills he learned in his father\u2019s Fayetteville grocery during the Depression, then later as a traveling salesman for Palmolive and Gilette.<\/p>\n

Deana and Greg Lusk\u2019s family took over in 1987, and for decades ran it as a place where a neighborhood handyman could easily stop in three times in one day to buy the right-size washer, then a bigger wrench, then a fresh hacksaw blade to replace what broke five minutes ago.<\/p>\n

Willie Jones, better-known as Mr. Willie, worked there for 35 years, always dressed in Sunday finest, retiring well into his 90s.<\/p>\n

Then Highsmith joined 15 years ago, and he didn\u2019t apply online.<\/p>\n

\u201cWalked in,\u201d he recalled. \u201cJust walked in and needed a job. I\u2019m a hard-worker, got ideas …\u201d<\/p>\n

Just down New Bern Avenue, Honeycutt Cleaners<\/a> closed after 75 years \u2014 a victim of pandemic slowdown. Watkins Shoe Repair on Peace Street is gone. Man-Mur Barber Shop will see its Hillsborough Street building sold soon.<\/p>\n

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Highsmith had the good fortune of buying from his building\u2019s owner, who could have taken pricier buyers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you didn\u2019t have people doing that,\u201d he said, \u201cRaleigh would change instantly and be unrecognizable. Nobody wanted to keep it. They were like, \u2018We\u2019ll sell everything and turn it into a club. We\u2019ll sell everything and turn it into this.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

A certified locksmith, Highsmith brings the added value of talking every day to painters soaked in paint, drywall installers coated in dust and plumbers wet to the ankles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew nothing about roofing when I got here,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll bet I could put a roof on now just talking to roofers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The phone rings as he speculates, and he answers with a friendly \u201cC\u2019s Keys and Hardware.\u201d<\/p>\n

A pause while he listens, nodding.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he says after a while, \u201cwe have paint by the gallon and the quart. Hmm. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve got any paint that would work on leather.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walk into what has seemingly always been Handyman and Highsmith is there with his sons, his fiance Lisa, his stepmother Thomasa and a slew of familiar faces. Highsmith boasts he recognizes at least 75% of the customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou remember he made that key for my Ultima?\u201d says a longtime customer at the cash register, bragging on Highsmith. \u201cGod is good, baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

A higher power, indeed, must have been at work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis opportunity was not my plan,\u201d Highsmith jokes. \u201cIf it were up to me, I would be a race car driver.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Handyman Hardware dates to 1956 when Councilman Edward Walters opened it on New Bern Avenue. It has been small and family owned ever since while others close.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nNew owner keeps longtime mom-and-pop hardware open, locally owned and downtown - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4704\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New owner keeps longtime mom-and-pop hardware open, locally owned and downtown - Durham Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Handyman Hardware dates to 1956 when Councilman Edward Walters opened it on New Bern Avenue. 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