Stepney's Hardware Store Is Moving Down Main Street, Into the Old Rite Aid

When you turn into Stepney Crossing from Route 59, the right side of the lot is set to change. The approved plan puts a six-foot chain-link fence, coated in black vinyl, around eight spaces that are now ordinary striped parking. Behind the storefront glass, in the space a Rite Aid left last year, Aubuchon Hardware is setting up for a soft opening planned for Friday, Nov. 6.

On paper, this is one store moving from 590 Main St. to 435 Main St. In practice, Stepney's hardware store will now share a parking lot with the coffee shop and the ramen counter, and 435 Main St. becomes the address on this part of Route 25 that covers the most errands in one stop.

A Bigger Box, a Few Doors Down

Per Westfair Communications' April report, the current store at 590 Main St. is 10,619 square feet. The renovated Stepney Crossing space will be 12,124 square feet. That is about 1,500 more square feet, and the company says it will hold expanded retail space, a wider product selection and exclusive brands. The same report says the store will be branded Aubuchon Ace Hardware, and the existing store stays open until the day of the actual move.

In April, the opening was expected "later this year or early next year." As of The Monroe Sun's Oct. 22 report, the move was "well underway" and the soft opening was planned for Nov. 6. A soft opening date can shift. If you are planning a weekend project around it, check with the store before you drive over.

Nothing has been announced yet for the 590 Main St. storefront at the Bart Center once Aubuchon moves out.

Stepney Already Lost Its Hardware Store Once

This storefront has been through a hardware-store gap before, and that history is the reason the move matters. When Aubuchon held its grand opening at the Bart Center in the summer of 2020, The Monroe Sun reported that the space had sat empty since Stepney Hardware closed the previous year, after a 64-year run. The paper said the chain had brought a hardware store back to the Stepney side of town, with familiar faces on staff. David Otto, the former owner of Stepney Hardware, joined Aubuchon's team, and Chris Bassick, a 32-year employee, became assistant manager.

At that opening, William E. Aubuchon IV, great-grandson of the company's 1908 founder, told the Sun that the Stepney store's tradition, its loyal customers and its visibility on a busy commercial road made Monroe an easy choice. "We're going to be here a long time," he said.

Six years later, the company is keeping that promise in a larger space in the same part of town. Stepney does not have to go through another stretch without a hardware store, because the old store stays open until moving day.

The Space It Fills

The space at 435 Main St. opened up through a national story. In July 2025, The Monroe Sun reported that the Stepney Crossing Rite Aid was closing as part of the chain's bankruptcy and its nationwide closures. That left one of the plaza's largest storefronts empty. A hardware store usually brings repeat trips for small items like a furnace filter, a bag of ice melt or a key copy, and those are the trips the plaza is now set up to catch.

What the Propane Station Changes at the Entrance

The Monroe Planning and Zoning Commission approved Aubuchon's site plan in mid-October. It covers a propane filling station and a fenced outdoor area for seasonal displays. The plaza's owners, the Sippin family, also own Sippin Energy, which will supply the propane. Here is what the approved plan looks like on the ground:

• Location: on your right as you enter the lot from Route 59
• Footprint: eight existing parking spaces, out of 198 across the two Sippin-owned parcels, with 171 spaces at 435 Main St. and 27 at 427 Main St.
• Size: an above-ground filling station cut from 16 feet long to 10 feet during revisions with the town
• Enclosure: a six-foot chain-link fence coated in black vinyl
• How it works: customers can buy a grill inside and fill the tank at the station outside

Losing eight spaces meant the application also asked for a reduced parking requirement under a shared-parking arrangement. David Sippin told The Monroe Sun that because businesses at Stepney Crossing keep different hours, parking spaces are always available. He added, "We think this design works aesthetically and functionally well."

The Sun predicted the station "may become a popular destination to refill propane tanks for grilling season." It opens in November, though, so the first tanks filled there will more likely be for patio heaters and late-season cookouts. Spring is when the station will get its real test.

Who Already Shares the Lot

The hardware store is joining a plaza that already has breakfast and dinner covered. Two of the businesses on the town's 2026 Monroe Restaurant Week participant list for Oct. 10–17 are at 435 Main St.

Last Drop Coffee Shop. The Monroe Sun's Restaurant Week preview calls it a popular town hangout that is "usually packed at breakfast and lunchtime." The menu runs from the Omewich, scrambled egg with peppers, onion, sausage and fresh mozzarella on a bagel, to lunch sandwiches like the Big Bubba, which is roast beef, fried onions and Russian dressing on a Portuguese roll. The business describes itself as women owned and operated.

Takumi Ramen & Grill. This is the plaza's newer arrival. Owner Alan Yang spent 20 years as a hibachi chef at his brother's restaurants in Mississippi before opening his own place at Stepney Crossing. The menu has ramen with chicken, beef or seafood, hibachi meals, and boba teas in flavors including Brown Sugar, Taro and Thai. The Volcano Ramen is the one to order if you want heat.

The Rest of the Stretch, by Street Number

The plaza is near the middle of a run of Main Street addresses that all appeared in the Sun's 2026 Restaurant Week coverage, plus a few nearby shops. Listed in address order, the stretch around the move looks like this:

Two of these businesses opened recently. Hyacinth Consignment Boutique, at 446 Main St. across from the plaza's address range, opened May 1. It is run by Lisa Lopez and her daughter Mikaela, and The Monroe Sun's profile lists prices like a Michael Kors purse for $39.95 and Converse All Stars for $12.95. Dynamic Edge Physiotherapy opened its second location at Clock Tower Square in June and held its Monroe Chamber ribbon cutting on Sept. 18.

Monroe Diner at 568 Main St. has been the old store's nearest breakfast stop. It reopened under new owners in December 2012 in the former New Colony Diner building, and it serves breakfast all day. After the move, the diner is a little farther from the hardware store, while Last Drop is in the same lot.

November Dates Just Off Main Street

If the new store has you starting winter projects, Harmony Grange at 103 Hurd Ave. has a few workshops and events on its fall calendar:

1. Saturday, Nov. 7: Charcuterie and Wine workshop, the day after Aubuchon's planned soft opening
2. Saturday, Nov. 14: beginner needle-felting workshop
3. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4–5: Holiday Sip and Shop with the Festival of Trees

The 2025 holiday lighting on the Stepney Green was held on Saturday, Dec. 6, so keep an eye on the town calendar for this year's date.

A busier Stepney Crossing affects homeowners in Stepney in practical ways. The house projects that come before a spring listing, like touch-up paint, new hardware or replacement light fixtures, now start at a larger store with coffee next door. If your fall to-do list has you thinking about what your home would sell for in spring, Scott Wright has worked these Monroe streets for more than 37 years and can tell you which of those projects buyers actually pay for. Get your free home valuation, and start your list with the jobs that count.