Harrison Paint Co. Moves to Gilbert's Hardware

It’s been said that when one door closes, another one opens, and that’s certainly been the case for owner Steve Ewald.

Ewald has closed his store, which had been a fixture for more than 53 years at its original site in Grosse Pointe Woods before Ewald relocated to St. Clair Shores about three and a half years ago.

Now Blair Gilbert, owner of on Harper, has purchased the paint business and has brought Ewald on board to run the hardware store's recently created paint department. 

It’s a win-win situation for the two long-time friends, who share the independent dealers’ philosophy of not just selling a product, but guiding the customer to a successful completion of a home improvement project. 

“He was having a tough time on Mack Avenue. … We agreed on a price and Steve came here to work for us,” Gilbert said. “Now we’ve got a trained, top-notch paint man, and he’s helping us take our paint department line to a new level. … I’m taking advantage of his company name and his expertise.”

Gilbert said the paint department has only been up and running since February, so the display area isn’t where he’d like it to be. But with Ewald at the counter everything’s moving in the right direction.

“He’s got hundreds of customers who love him,” Gilbert said.

“He’s the best custom paint matcher in the state of Michigan, and he’s really good at stains, too, and stain’s harder,” remarked a customer, who declined to give his name. “Plus he’s really good with customers. He’s polite, empathetic and he’s a big Teddy bear.”

Ewald said Gilbert had been trying to get him to come over for about two years. The men have known each other for about 25 years.

“I’ve referred people to him and he’s referred people to me,” Ewald said.

His new situation is a welcome fresh start.

“I love it,” he said. “I’ve got a lot to learn. … I know the paint business in and out, and now it’s time to learn everything else about the hardware business. It’s exciting, and a lot of my customers come to shop here.” 

Ewald was just 29 when he purchased the business, which Ned and Charles Harrison founded in 1954. He relocated to St. Clair Shores after landlords nearly doubled his rent at the Grosse Pointe Woods site.

Ewald had been fighting to keep the store going even before the move. During its peak years, 1990-2001, the paint store was bringing in about $800,000. Toward the end he had had to let his employees go and the store was only pulling in about $200,000. 

“I’d been digging out of my retirement to keep the store running and I couldn’t do it anymore. After 9/11 my sales plummeted. … Also (the business) was affected by mass merchandisers, other competition moving into the area. … It came to the point where I just wasn’t going to take it any more.”