Grant's Hardware Now Open In Broadus

With the purchase of Copps Hardware, Grant Beagles, along with his wife, Jessica, and her parents, Gene and Diane Smith, are now the owners of Grant's Hardware in Broadus.

Grant Beagles will serve as President on the board of the new enterprise, while Jessica, Gene, and Diane will also serve on the Board of Directors.

Last week we sat down with Grant to talk about Grant's Hardware, which officially took over the Copps Hardware facility on November 15th.

Grant was born in Billings, and lived in Butte growing up until his dad found a job with Texas Instruments (famous for their calculators, such as the ubiquitous TI-83) in Texas. Grant returned to Montana when he graduated high school, matriculating to MSU-Bozeman. While attending college, he met his future wife, Jessica, who had graduated from Broadus in 2006. The duo began dating when Grant was a sophomore at Bozeman, and were eventually wed at the Smith family ranch northwest of Broadus in 2018. Beagles told us the couple has an 18-month-old daughter, Ellie, and another daughter on the way.

Grant began working at Copps Hardware under then owner Kurt Copps in 2018, but Grant had a long history of working in the hardware industry before coming to work at Copps. He worked for around seven years at Home Depot, training to become a manager, and also worked at Ace Hardware in Miles City when they couple first moved to Broadus.

"I've always wanted to run my own store, and when the opportunity presented itself here we jumped on it," Grant said of the business purchase. "We plan on establishing roots here, and realize how important this hardware store is to the community. The plan is to keep the store and the community thriving."

In talking to former store owner, Kurt Copps, he divulged that his parents, Mike and Marty Copps started Copps Hardware in 1980 in the building of what is now Western Chick, and had previously housed Ed and Hazel Portwine's plumbing business. Kurt told us that Copps expanded to include a lumber yard in what is now Hi-Tech Auto before moving the entire operation to the current location on the west end of town in 1990. The business has continued to expand over the years, with more building space added for lumber, and a yard on the north side of the highway where fencing supplies and a variety of ranch related products are located. The main building holds an impressive assortment of hardware and household goods – everything from paint to plumbing supplies to puzzles. Kurt moved back to Broadus in 2001, taking over when his folks retired in the ensuing years. With the transfer of the business to Grant's Hardware, Kurt told us he doesn't have any major plans as of now. Kurt commented: "I would like to thank you each and every person for the support over the last 40 years. We couldn't have done it without the awesome community that we live in."

Grant Beagles told us that the community has been very supportive of the purchase, and he and the staff have been working hard to ensure an easy transition. Plans are to keep things as they have been with no big changes in the near future, though Grant would like to expand the number of American made goods available for purchase. The business will also continue to operate under the Hardware Hank banner, which provides distribution services for a number of hardware related goods.

He noted: "Our big plan is to continue to provide good service and quality products to our customers."