Growing Up Hardware: Brinkmann’s Builds Success on Foundation of Family and Service

Striking the perfect balance between honoring the past and moving into the future, the Brinkmann family has turned Brinkmann’s from a single 1,200-square-foot store in Sayville, New York, to a six-location operation making an impact in numerous communities across Long Island.

In 1976, Tony and Pat Brinkmann opened the first location in Sayville, grounding the company in family tradition and an entrepreneurial spirit. The two other hardware stores in the area didn’t deter the couple; instead they set their store apart by stocking it with a wide variety of products and making sure each and every customer received the highest level of customer service. From Sayville, the next four decades would see the business expand to Blue Point, Glen Cove, Holbrook, Jamesport and Miller Place. And now, the couple’s three children—Hank, Ben and Mary—run the operation. Mary (now Mary Neimeth) runs the office, while Hank and Ben oversee operations and real estate.

All three children grew up in and around the business. Tony and Pat were some of the store’s only employees, so during the busy weekends, they would bring the children to the store with them. Hank says he remembers watching “Tarzan” in the back room on a small 12-inch TV. As they grew older, Mary, Ben and Hank would help with store chores like sweeping, breaking down cardboard and taking out the trash, eventually helping out after school and on the weekends.

“I loved being there and often tell people that I grew up in the aisles of our parents’ hardware store,” Hank says. “It was the best education ever in those aisles. Not only about hardware and business, but about people and the way things work. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

All three went away to college, with Hank working at his college town’s hardware store. After graduating, all three returned to Brinkmann’s, setting goals for where they wanted to take the business.

“We’ve been going at it ever since. We love it,” Hank says. “There are not many days when we’re not in the office; we just love being here.”

Service + Products

That founding principle of customer first is still seen in the way the Brinkmann family runs their business. Customer service starts by fostering an environment with employees where customers are not looked at as mere transactions, but as relationships. Employees are also empowered to go the extra mile for customers.

One example of this empowerment occurred when a customer came in looking for two pink shovels for her granddaughters. The store had only one in stock, but instead of simply telling the customer they were out, one of the Brinkmann’s staff took the initiative to hand-paint a blue shovel to create a custom pink one for the customer. This personal touch, done without the need for permission from upper management, perfectly encapsulates Brinkmann’s commitment to exceeding customer expectations.

“We empower our team to make sure that each customer gets what they need, when they need it,” Ben says. “We take care of our customers’ best interests first, not ours.”

Going hand in hand with customer service at Brinkmann’s is its wide variety of products. The operation has found success in all the core departments, but especially in lawn and garden and paint, and has also leaned into several niche categories to better meet customers’ needs.

When the operation couldn’t get the Benjamin Moore line of paint into one of its stores because of a Benjamin Moore dealer down the street, Hank and Ben worked with True Value to sell its own private label line of paint. They tested it in one location and thanks to the success there, they will be rolling out the paint line to the other locations.

“If we were going to introduce a new brand, we wanted it to be ours, so True Value offered the private label and worked with us extensively on designing the labels that complimented what was already on our shelves,” Ben says.
“I think we came up with a really nice looking line of paint that has been doing really well. It’s priced aggressively and a really high-quality paint delivered at a great price.”

Started as a modest experiment three years ago, the live goods category has bloomed and is now available at all six locations as a highly successful niche for the operation.

At Sayville, the Brinkmanns purchased two properties north of the store and plan to put in a garden center at that location. Ben says they plan on doing the same at several of the other locations as well, going all-in on this lucrative niche.

Electric bikes, marine and boating and fishing supplies have been profitable niches, but the one that has seen exceptional success is live chickens. In just two years, that category was up 600 to 700%, fueled by the price of eggs and an interest in hobby farming that came from the pandemic.

“Chickens have done so well for us. Average transaction size in our stores is $40, but the average chicken sale is $78,” Ben says. “The chickens themselves are only about $25 of the total cost—the rest of the basket sales comes from all the add-ons, making it a sustainable niche. Having the adorable fuzzy little chicks in the store in the spring also brings in customers, who often come in to see the chicks but end up buying something. They put our store back on the map right before the busy spring season.”

Hardware Meets Real Estate Construction

The team at Brinkmann’s has no plans to stop growing and evolving and has set the ambitious goal of achieving $100 million in sales by 2035.

“Real estate, development and construction has always been an interest and one that ties in perfectly with our business and growth,” Hank says. “By developing five of the seven locations we operate out of, we have been able to tailor the properties and buildings to optimize both sales and operations.”

The Brinkmann family formed its own construction company, Brinkmann Construction, allowing them to be involved in every detail of their developments from the start.

“We learned by watching the best and most successful national chains grow and develop,” Hank says. “The successful ones don’t take just any available square footage, slap their sign up and say good enough. They identify premium locations within their target markets and then acquire the necessary property, or properties, to ensure they are setting themselves up for success.

The Brinkmann’s team now does the same, ensuring they have the right locations with convenient access, and then they tailor every detail of the property and building around providing the best and most seamless shopping experience for customers. From oversized parking spaces and flush curbs to automatic doors and optimal light levels across the entire store, every detail adds to the recipe of success, Hank says.

“If you ‘good enough’ your offerings, you will have to worry about competition coming in. If you invest in your locations and offerings properly, competition will not see opportunity and will move on,” Hank says. “We realized if you’re worried about competition moving in, it’s because you’re underserving the market. We have spent a decade improving and expanding our offerings in all locations, so much so that we tripled our sales without growing store count.”

They have just begun construction on a building for the expansion and re-location of their existing store in Miller Place, tripling the size from 10,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet. The new location is slated to open in the third quarter of 2026, and they have their sights on new locations where they see opportunity.

“We are now ready to move to the next phase pursuing our growth goals by entering new markets,” Hank says. “Team Brinkmann’s has set an ambitious goal and together as a team we are all driving at it together. I think that’s been an important part of our success—everyone knowing where we’re focused and how we can all achieve our goal of getting there together as a team.”