University Housewares

You can find almost everything you need in the small but condense space. And the service there is full of enthusiasm.

Best store ever !! Love that place.

The are always willing to help here. I've been in here a few times since I've moved to the neighborhood and the staff has always been very friendly and I've ended up finding what random thing I needed. I think the prices tend to be a little high here, but the service and convenience they offer outweighs the moderate price increases.

I have been buying all my hardware and housewares from University Housewares and University Hardware (formerly Columbia Hardware) for twenty years. The owner (who mysteriously does not appear to have aged over the last two decades and is always ready with a welcoming smile and whatever advice you might need about the items he sells) knows the contents of his stores inside and out and so do his employees. Whatever you need, even if you don't know whether it actually exists (i.e. you walk in and say "Do you have some kind of thingamajig that would solve problem X?"), they will locate it for you within seconds, place it in your hands, and if need be, explain to you how to use it. If additional tools are required to assemble or install the item you're buying, they will make sure you own those tools before sending you home with it. I once walked in and bought a new shower curtain but forgot to buy new curtain rings to hang it with. When I went back the next day to get the rings, I teased the owner: "I can't believe you let me walk out of here with a shower curtain but no hanging rings!" He was totally crestfallen, because indeed, it is unlike him not to make sure you have everything you need before walking out of the store (in his defense, the store was busy and he was serving 3 customers at once and anyway, I should have remembered the rings myself!).

In any case, the point here is that this store has everything you need, including things you don't know you need, and thanks to their emphasis on customer service, you will never have to look for it: someone will spring to attention, determine what you need, locate it and bring it you, all within the space of seconds and with a friendly smile. On the vanishingly rare occasions that they don't have the exact item you are looking for, they will make a phone call and get it for you within twenty-four hours. (Or so I am reliably informed, and indeed I've seen the owner make such phone calls. I personally have never not found what I was looking for within moments of entering.) I LOVE THIS STORE.

As soon as you walk in to University Housewares there is at least one person waiting there to help you find exactly what you are looking for. They have a huge selection of household items, from cannoli making forms to mops, and if they don't have what you're looking for, they can order it. The owner has experience with all the products he sells so he can actually give you advice! In today's age of huge, bewildering department stores, this place is a GEM.