Keota Hardware Store Reopens With New Owner

KEOTA – Malley Hardware and Variety, a hardware store on Broadway in Keota, has reopened with new owners. The hardware store, which was opened by Jim Malley in 1982, closed down at the end of 2024, due to Malley’s failing health. The store has now been bought by locals Julianna and Brandon Berg, who have tentatively planned to reopen on Feb. 14.

Julianna Berg explained that they decided to purchase the store because of how important it is to the community. “My husband and I put a lot of thought into this, and we had a lot of conversations. Crunched the numbers,” said Julianna. “We did our due diligence, and at the end of the day, it made sense, and it is such an important asset to our community...It was really hard to see it, the possibility that it wasn’t going to be there anymore. And you kinda wonder, is somebody else going to come in? Does somebody else want to buy it? And a few months went by, and a few more months went by, and nobody was champing at the bit to buy it. So, Brandon and I sat back down and kinda revisited it and said, ‘You know, we want this hardware store in town. We can’t just sit by and wait for somebody else to do it. So let’s go ahead and take matters into our own hands and explore this.’ As we explored it, and talked about it, just everything kind of fell into place and it made so much sense for us.”

“I’m glad they got it, I really am,” said Malley. “I’m glad to see it stay. Keota needs a good hardware store.”

The Bergs plan to keep the “Malley” name. They plan to gradually modernize the store, for example by adding credit card processing, but to try and maintain its hometown hardware store feel. The west side of the store will continue to be a hardware store, but the east side, currently used for appliances, will be liquidated and be used for Julianna’s sewing and upholstery work. “Our goal here really is to serve the community, and if we don’t serve the community, it doesn’t do anybody any good...So nothing that’s going to be big and scary for anybody. It’s going to feel very similar to what it is now,” said Julianna.