image description — Carr Hardware just completed a massive expansion of the former Scarafoni Ford building.

Expanded North Adams Carr Hardware To Open Monday

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
05:10PM / Friday, January 27, 2012Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The new Carr Hardware will open its doors on Monday morning at 7:30 — a month earlier than expected — and a grand opening celebration is planned for April.

The hardware and paint supply store just completed an expansion by moving its business from State Street to the former Carbone Auto Sales on State Road. The new 10,000-square-foot building at least triple the size of the previous location and will feature 30,000 new items.

"It's a great location. We're thrilled about the location and the outside opportunity and the parking," said co-owner Bart Raser on Friday, describing the interior of the store as "super nice." "We're looking forward to having green goods and power equipment."

Raser said the new store is significantly bigger than the State Road location, which had only offered paint-related supplies and rentals. Carr took possession of the building on Jan. 3 and completed its transformation in less than 30 days.

The mild weather and help from employees and vendors made the quick turnaround possible, he said.

"We have been working 24/7 with 20 people and we're a month ahead," Raser said, adding that employees from other stores were called in to help out. "We have a great team. ... I can't say enough about our employees for getting us here ahead of schedule."

The store will expand from five employees to 20 and feature three complete paint lines as well as a full line of hand and power tools, plumbing, electrical and an equipment and party rentals store. Also, with a new partnership with Agway, the store will have a full line of pet, agricultural and lawn and garden supplies.

Raser said the Agway section is stocked with the company's signature Feathered Friends bird food and pet supplies and will expand the lawn and garden part in March.

"Serving the customer is top priority at Carr Hardware," Raser said in a press release. "We focus on meeting the expectations of local contractors, institutions, and residents by providing the community with competitively priced products and services they need to complete their projects without having to go out of town."

Carr operates stores in Lee, Pittsfield, Great Barrington and Watervliet, N.Y.

Monday's opening will be a soft opening but a grand opening is planned for the weekend of April 27.

Tags: Carr, hardware, opening,

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Your Comments

iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.

With Walmart at one end of town and Carr at the other end , what we need is a downtown bypass. ASAP .
from: need	on: 01-27-2012 05:50PM I Agree (12) - I Disagree (22)

It's great to see an established Berkshire County business (Carr has been in Pittsfield for decades) have confidence in North Adams and buy a vacant building to create badly needed tax dollars for North Adams. Thanks to Bart Raser for a great job.
from: malapo	on: 01-27-2012 06:21PM I Agree (57) - I Disagree (4)

Carr did not buy this building. They are renting from Scarafoni. They are already in North Adams. They are just moving and expanding.
from: ugh	on: 01-27-2012 08:03PM I Agree (10) - I Disagree (18)
Editor: No, they didn't buy the building. But they are expanding, making a vacant building worth more, adding jobs and paying more taxes. They could have left.
I Agree (59) - I Disagree (1)

A business doubling it's space and number of employees is as good as a new businesses openning. It doesn't matter who owns the building, the same commerical taxes are paid on it. A renovated filled building is worth more than an old empty one and it looks good on a main route. They did a nice job on the building and it already has Aubachon starting renovations on their building. Good job Carr Hardware!
from: ThankU	on: 01-28-2012 12:13AM I Agree (46) - I Disagree (1)

Congratulations to Carr Hardware in expanding into a much larger store. I am sure that all the residents and other communities will benefit from the easy access and location of the store. Hiring extra help is certainly a plus to our community. Looking forward to the addition of gardening supplies and hopefully plants. Good Luck in this venture
from: Laurie	on: 01-28-2012 06:45AM I Agree (35) - I Disagree (0)

Carr moving Sears closing . Moving Forward ???
from: moving	on: 01-28-2012 10:06AM I Agree (7) - I Disagree (25)

How many of the new jobs are part time and how many are full time with health insurance?
from: Fact	on: 01-28-2012 10:12AM I Agree (11) - I Disagree (8)

Response: Unlike many other retailers, Carr Hardware believes customers shop here because of our career professionals. Therefore the majority of our staff consist of Full Time friendly, well trained career professionals who are experts in their fields. We have hired a few part timers but the majority of our team is full tme. Our full timers recieve highly competitive benefits for the retail industry including health, dental and life insurance. We also have a 401k and profit sharing plan. We are still looking for top level talent throughout the organization and welcome all applicants.
from: BART RASER	on: 01-28-2012 12:11PM I Agree (49) - I Disagree (0)

Editor Why no comment about Sears. You are just a liberal reporter that does not report the whole truth. It is good that Carr is expanding but at the same time the city is losing another downtown store. Do you think because you do not report it, it will not happen ??? Tell it like it is.
from: Why	on: 01-28-2012 04:06PM I Agree (3) - I Disagree (22)
Editor: I don't know why there aren't many comments on Sear's leaving. I think it's bad, but it also was a corporate decision made far away. There's little communities can do about those decisions. Perhaps if someone had come forward to take over the franchise, Sears might not have closed. Maybe if Staples hadn't pushed online sales and made it too difficult to use corporate accounts, that wouldn't have closed. Maybe if corporate had been concerned about communities, the Kmart that WAS MAKING MONEY wouldn't have closed. Bottomline: corporations don't really care. I do hope you were one of those actually spending money in the Sears.
I Agree (37) - I Disagree (1)

Little mention here at the moment about the Agway component. Those of us who really miss Agway are looking forward to that. Although Central Tractor is a great store, it's a pain to drive all the way up to Bennington for some electrolytes or fence wire or whatever.
from: guy	on: 01-28-2012 07:59PM I Agree (22) - I Disagree (0)

Bart, so how many of the fifteen new will be fulltime? 5, 7, 10, or you don't know yet? And please note I wish you the best of luck
from: Fact	on: 01-28-2012 09:07PM I Agree (8) - I Disagree (0)

Competition is good ,it is said. Hope it helps Aubuchon just down the road in Williamstown. We certainly don't need another empty eyesore on Main St. Good luck to both.
from: Helene Armet	on: 01-30-2012 07:44AM I Agree (4) - I Disagree (0)

The building looks great, better than it has in many years, since the car dealers literally put no money into it for decades. It's great to see a locally owned business expanding in North Adams in a good location and putting their money where their mouth is. Thanks Bart. Look forward to going to Carr's North Adams store a lot.
from: Yes	on: 01-30-2012 09:46AM I Agree (36) - I Disagree (0)

Why do so many people have to throw negatives out at everything that happens in this town. Nice building, new jobs, etc but their has to be a few grumblers that attack the paper and the new business before they open the doors. Grow up people.
from: geez	on: 01-31-2012 02:48PM I Agree (18) - I Disagree (1)

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Pittsfield Carr Hardware store, so I'm sure that this one will be awesome, too. I know I will be a regular customer and hope that North Adams, Clarksburg, Stamford, Adams and Williamstown folks will also shop there and appreciate the great store we now have in our midst. Best of luck, Mr. Raser, and THANK YOU for your confidence in North Adams.
from: Cockerbeagle	on: 01-31-2012 08:02PM I Agree (17) - I Disagree (0)

North Adams, Pittsfield Mark King Day With Calls for Activism

By Tammy Daniels & Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:01PM / Monday, January 19, 2026

Alÿcia Bacon, community engagement officer for the Berkshire Taconic Foundation, speaks at the MLK service held Price Memorial AME Church in Pittsfield.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Wendy Penner can be found pretty much everywhere: leading local initiatives to address climate change and sustainability, championing public health approaches for substance abuse, and motivating citizens to defend their rights and the rights of others.

That's all when she's not working her day job in public health, or being co-president of Congregation Beth Israel, or chairing the Williamstown COOL Committee, or volunteering on a local board.

"Wendy is deeply committed to the Northern Berkshire community and to the idea of think globally, act locally," said Gabrielle Glasier, master of ceremonies for Northern Berkshire Community Coalition's annual Day of Service.

Her community recognized her efforts with the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Peacemaker Award, which is presented to individuals and organizations who have substantially contributed to the Northern Berkshires. The award has been presented by the MLK Committee for 30 years, several times a year at first and at the MLK Day of Service over the past 20 years.

"This event is at heart a celebration of our national and local striving to live up to the ideals of Dr. King and his committed work for racial equality, economic justice, nonviolence and anti-militarism," said Penner. "There is so much I want to say about this community that I love, about how we show up for each other, how we demonstrate community care for those who are struggling, how we support and and celebrate the natural environment that we love and how we understand how important it is that every community member feels deserves to feel valued, seen and uplifted."

King's legacy is in peril "as I never could have imagined," she said, noting the accumulation of vast wealth at the top while the bottom 50 percent share only 2.5 percent the country's assets. Even in "safe" Massachusetts, there are people struggling with food and housing, others afraid to leave their homes.

In response, the community has risen to organize and make themselves visible and vocal through groups such as Greylock Together, supporting mutual aid networks, calling representatives, writing cards and letters, and using their privilege to protect vulnerable community members.

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