Adam’s True Value Opens With an Eye on Innovation

While bittersweet, the grand opening of Adam’s True Value Hardware marked the achievement of a dream by the Taffera brothers, Chris, Justin and Adam. Growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in May 2026, the brothers opened up the kind of store their neighborhood needed, but with one of them missing. 

In January 2023, Adam passed away, but the new store bears his namesake. Adam’s son, whose name is also Adam, is part of the leadership team with his uncles Chris and Justin.

“We named a store after him, and I’m sure he’d be mad that we’re here every day together and he’s missing all the fun,” Justin says. “But we get to have his son—little Adam, who’s not little anymore at over 6 feet tall and 21 years old—as co-owner with us. So I get to spend my days with my brother and my nephew.”

Before Adam’s passing, the brothers were involved in managing apartment buildings and flipping homes, but had the idea to open a hardware store. 

“Chris would consistently bring up how much money we spend on hardware and how many trips we go back and forth to hardware stores,” Justin says. “I told him he was nuts, we’re not doing that. But Chris turned out to be right, and I have to tell him that now every morning when I come into work.” 

The brothers started their search for a store location nearly three years ago, and finally found the right-sized building for the right price. The store took over a former Rite Aid space and carries hardware, paint, lumber and building materials and rentals. Along with offering a wide product selection and second-to-none service, Chris, Justin and Adam are leaning into innovation in their operation, including adding a self-checkout kiosk in the store. 

In January, the trio attended the National Retail Federation’s Retail’s Big Show to search for a point-of-sale (POS) provider that offered the modern features they wanted to bring into their new store. At the event, they were connected with Rundoo, who set the store up with a POS that included a self-checkout kiosk. 

“That first day we put it out, we were standing up at the counter and were just so excited when that first person came in to use it,” Justin says. “A lot of customers have been using it, and people have been loving it. We’ve had several busy parents who have thanked us for having it because they don’t have to wait in line with their children running around.”

The self-checkout kiosk is also a way to better meet customers where they are and provide a unique customer service not seen in many other independent home improvement stores. 

“We are trying to push the limits of what today’s modern independent hardware stores provide and meet what today’s customers are demanding in a fast-paced world,” Chris says. “Today’s younger adults mostly do not want and are not demanding the same social requirements as their parents.”

Self-checkout is just the start for Adam’s True Value Hardware. Chris is exploring ways to use an AI-powered camera to track fasteners as a customer checks out, as a better way to know and follow how many fasteners and what types the store sells. 

Justin is also reaching the next generation with his podcast, Hammer or the Nail, which explores the life of a hardware store owner. 

“I want to interview everyone from small business owners to tradesmen, everyday workers to entrepreneurs,” Justin says. “Each episode will deliver honest conversations, humor, life lessons and the kind of authenticity you can only get from someone who has truly lived it.”